


Like A Granted Wish

by winterthur



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Post-Finale, Trauma, the two boys from earth who have a lot of stuff to work through
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-10 06:11:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14731442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterthur/pseuds/winterthur
Summary: A fic of Inaho discovering his feelings for Slaine, and maybe vice versa.Sometimes Inaho felt like he knew Slaine so well, but other times, it seemed like Slaine just had a habit of proving him wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

"Inaho! Hey, Inaho, wake up!"  
  
Inaho groaned and sat up, and quickly wondered if he was dreaming.  
  
He was in class. In Shinawara High School.  
  
Just like before the war.  
  
"Calm?"  
  
Calm smiled at him. "Hey buddy, class is over. It's time for lunch." He laughed. "Did you stay up all night playing that game?"  
  
"What game?" He asked sleepily and rubbed his eye.  
  
"The one you bought like 2 days ago?"  
  
Inaho furrowed his brow.  
  
_Ah, a dream then._  
  
"Yeah. I was." He lied for simplicity's sake. Inaho didn't like to lie, but it was only a dream. He had quickly learned that to try and reject the easy going dreams only invited nightmares to replace them with.  
  
_Nightmares_ about death and war and destruction. Nightmares of things that happened, and nightmares of things that didn't.  
  
It was easier to roll with it, and accept the easy going lies. At least he would get some better sleep and wake up mildly refreshed in the morning.  
  
"Calm!" Another boy called out. "My dad sent me Girl Scout cookies from America, do you want some?"  
  
"Ohmygod, _yes_!"  
  
Inaho looked over at the boy Calm rushed to. He sat diagonally from Inaho, and had near-white blond hair.  
  
Inaho felt his blood run cold.  
  
It was Slaine Troyard.  
  
In his school.  
  
In their uniform.  
  
In an innocent place he had never belonged to.  
  
It bothered Inaho deep in his heart and soul. He had never had an easy-going dream with Slaine in it before, and he wondered when the nightmare parts would begin... Perhaps Slaine would take a gun out of his desk and shoot Inaho's eye out.  
  
His eye.  
  
He quickly felt for it, but couldn't tell if it was there or not, before calmly reminding himself all he had to do was close one eye. He closed each one, forgetting in his panic which one he had lost in the first place.  
  
But he could see with both of them.  
  
So it was definitely a dream.  
  
A shadow fell over his desk and Inaho's heart practically _stopped_.  
  
_When I look up, I will see Slaine Troyard with a gun..._  
  
He looked up, and saw Slaine Troyard standing in front of him.  
  
"Kaizuka, did you hear me?" He asked, _not_ pointing a gun at him.  
  
"What?" He asked a little shakily.  
  
He held up something in a quick blur that made Inaho flinch, before he saw it was just a brightly colored box. "I asked if you wanted some too?"  
  
"What.... Is it?"  
  
"Cookies. From America. My dad sent them." He said simply, looking like he was starting to get agitated talking to him. "I have mint ones and peanut butter ones. Do you want to try them or not?"  
  
"Sure." He said, even though his mouth was immensely dry, and he didn't know how he was going to eat _anything_. But he still believed that to go along with a dream would prolong the nightmare aspect.  
  
Slaine gave him a few of each, and went back to his desk without another word.  
  
"Eat your lunch first!" Calm called out to him, moving to talk to someone else.  
  
_I want to go home..._ Was all Inaho could think, staring at Slaine, who was simply sitting in his chair, like he _belonged_ there. Inaho couldn't breathe well, and desperately wanted some fresh air, so he stood up from his seat and left the classroom.  
  
He barely made it a few steps through the hallway before he began feeling dizzy and had to place a hand on the wall to keep himself upright. Afraid he'd faint, he lowered himself to the floor to sit down so he could wait out the feeling.  
  
Nobody talked to him or hardly noticed him, and he tried hard to regulate his breathing, like he had been taught when he had a panic attack once.  
  
_It would be bad if I hit my head, because of my injury... My brain could sustain further damage..._  
  
He sat with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. When he was just starting to feel calmer, he decided to stand back up, slowly, and make his way towards the window. Some fresh air always made him feel better. Less claustrophobic.

The window was open, and a nice breeze was blowing through it.  
  
"Kaizuka, are you feeling okay? You look rather pale." Slaine asked, standing tall and casting a dark shadow over him. He was only a couple inches taller, but it felt like more somehow.  
  
Inaho's vision blacked out, and he felt the dread in his stomach as he realized that must mean his dream had just flipped over to nightmare mode, before he completely lost consciousness.

.

.

.  
  
  
When he awoke again, it was to a white room and a light breeze ruffling his hair. It was an infirmary of sorts.  
  
He moved as if to sit up, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Don't get up just yet. The nurse said-"  
  
The sight of Slaine Troyard, again, so soon, had him reeling, and he leaned over the side of the bed towards the trash can to throw up the absolutely _nothing_ that was in his stomach.  
  
"You fainted in the hall." Slaine explained, unperturbed. "Luckily I was there to catch you, or you could have gotten a nasty concussion. Or worse! There was an open window just beside you!"  
  
Inaho pulled himself up from the side of the bed to lay his head back down on the soft pillow. He reached a hand up to his cheek, feeling for an eye-patch that wasn't there, and reached up further to the eye that was.  
  
He jumped when Slaine placed a hand over his forehead, but didn't otherwise move.  
  
"You don't have a fever..."  
  
Inaho said nothing. Slaine pulled his hand back and glanced at the clock on the wall.  
  
"Tell you what-" He said, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "Stay here, I'll get your stuff, and I'm going to walk you home. Sounds good, doesn't it?" He smiled more gently than Inaho had ever seen.  
"I'll be right back. Don't move!"  
  
And he left.  
  
Which meant Inaho could relax for a few minutes, and try to figure out what kind of odd dream he was having.  
  
Though he was starting to think it wasn't a dream. It felt too real. It felt too intense. It felt all too similar to his real-life panic attacks, when he had never before dreamt them so vividly.  
  
He held a hand over his right eye and stared up at the ceiling.  
  
Being able to see with only his left eye proved that it couldn't be reality though. It couldn't be.

With a gentle sigh, Inaho sat up slowly and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His uniform jacket was hanging on a nearby coat rack, and the breeze was already making him chilled, so he stood up and grabbed it, putting it back on. He vaguely wondered if the nurse or Slaine himself had taken it off of him. A shiver ran up his spine.  
  
"Ready to go?" Slaine asked, returning sooner than Inaho had hoped for.  
  
Inaho felt calmer now at least. He still half-expected a nightmare to come, but was glad that so far none had.

.

.

.  
  
  
Outside, walking in the warm Spring sun, it made him feel _much_ better. There was just something about fresh air that Inaho enjoyed, and it made him feel more rejuvenated.  
  
Slaine walked beside him, his own book-bag on his shoulder, and carrying Inaho's by its handle. Inaho had at first insisted he could carry it, but Slaine wouldn't let him.  
  
"Does your eye bother you sometimes?" Slaine asked all of a sudden.  
  
"What?" Inaho's head snapped up to look at Slaine.  
  
"I heard you had cataracts as a kid or something. I don't really know anything about it. Can it come back?"  
  
Inaho said nothing, only staring at him. He didn't know which statement to correct first.  
  
_Yes my eye bothers me all the time. No I never had cataracts as a kid. Who told you THAT? Yes, cataracts can make a return for those that had it however._  
  
But before he could organize all of that into proper sentences, Slaine had given him a look and continued.  
  
"I saw you with your hand over your eye in the nurse's office. Does it hurt or something?"  
  
Inaho shook his head. Because that was true at least. It didn't hurt, not _yet_ anyway.  
  
"Why do you know where I live?" Inaho asked carefully when they turned down a narrow side street.  
  
Slaine looked a little confused. "I've been there once. No, _twice_. Don't you remember?"  
  
Inaho didn't answer that. "Why did you offer to walk me home? I thought you hated me."  
  
It had tumbled out of his mouth before he thought much of it, but as soon as he said it, he worried it might the wrong thing to say. He remembered their fight in the moon-base that day. When Slaine mentioned a similar thing, and had angrily told him, _if you were only my enemy, I wouldn't hate you!_  
  
He still didn't know what that meant.  
  
The Slaine walking next to him laughed softly, doing so with a self-conscious hand in front of his mouth.  
  
"I know we may not consider each other a _friend_ , but I don't hate you! You say that as if I am your most bitter enemy!" He said, laughing again. "The things you say sometimes... A-ah, wait- do you... Do you hate _me_?"  
  
Inaho opened his mouth but couldn't speak. What should he say?  
  
"I know we argue a lot." Slaine continued. "And we really only know each other through mutual friends, but..." He sounded a little disappointed.  
  
Inaho watched him hook a thumb in the chain of his necklace, the pendant of which was tucked under his shirt, and fidgeted with the chain.  
  
"I don't hate you." Inaho blurted out.  
  
Slaine smiled a little, looking relieved. "Like I said, I know we're not really _friends_ , but... Is acquaintances okay? It's what we are anyway."  
  
"....Class...mates...?" Inaho said slowly.  
  
Inaho didn't expect his words to cause Slaine's smile to widen like it did.  
  
"That's right! We're classmates! It sounds nicer somehow, even though it's actually more vague, isn't it? Like, Calm is your classmate, but he's your _friend_. But," He scrambled for a name. "Uh, _Yamato_ is your classmate but I'm sure you two have never talked. Not since I transferred here anyway."  
  
Which peaked Inaho's interest.  
  
"Transferred from where?"  
  
"Huh?" The abrupt change in topic startled him, but he quickly recovered. "Oh. Mumbai, India. Did I never mention that? I thought I did... Well, it's already been almost a year since I came here though. Time goes by so fast sometimes."  
  
Inaho was trying _so hard_ to figure out this odd reality he had been transported to.  
  
"But you said your dad is in America?"  
  
"Yup! He has some business to do there so he's gonna be gone until next month. I'm home alone, but it's not like I'm one for reckless parties or anything."  
  
_Ah. Okay. There we go. This is my subconscious painting a likeness to Slaine living in that manor by the sea. He's alone there._  
  
"I wonder how much longer we'll get to stay in Japan though..." Slaine continued. "I've never lived somewhere longer than a year before, and I kinda like it here... Well, after this year I'll be going to university, so I guess I wouldn't _have_ to move with my dad anymore..."  
  
"You're in 12th grade?"  
  
Inaho didn't know why that surprised him, but it did. He knew Slaine was a year older than him... He just didn't expect his dream to keep up with their current ages.  
  
Slaine nodded. "Did you forget just because we share a handful of classes? The school only has them up to certain levels after all... I remember when I first got here, and the teacher paired us up for an assignment just because we're both autistic, and then couldn't fathom why we kept getting into arguments!" He laughed about it now, but Inaho could hear how bitter he must have been about it.  
"It's not like two neurotypical students will automatically get along just because they're both neurotypical!" He gave Inaho another soft smile.  
"But I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I? Anyway, we're here."  
  
They had reached Inaho's apartment building, so Slaine handed the book-bag over.  
  
"You'll be okay on your own, right?"  
  
Inaho nodded.  
  
"Okay. I'm gotta head back now." He waved his hand. "Feel better!"

.

.

.  
  
  
It was the next day, and Inaho was still trapped in this odd reality, so he finally deemed it 70% _not_ a dream.  
  
Though he still wasn't sure what it could be.  
  
Going to school like nothing was wrong, like nothing happened, like he hadn't lived through a _war_ , was hard for him to think about. But he did it anyway.  
  
He took the bus like he always did, since it was more efficient, and he suddenly wondered why Slaine had _walked_ with him the entire way yesterday. Did he not know which bus to take?  
  
On the bus he saw Calm, and Inko, and Nina, and... Okisuke.  
  
His heart stopped and felt like cement in his chest.  
  
"Morning, Inaho!" Inko greeted.  
  
"You look like you got hit by a truck, man, what's wrong?" Calm asked.  
  
Inaho quickly made his way over to sit with his friends.  
  
"Okojo-" He started, and the other boy glanced up at him from his handheld game.  
  
"Morning, Inaho." He greeted, before going back to his game. "I heard you went home sick yesterday, you must have caught what I had!" He smiled bitterly. "Throwing up until your stomach hurts is _not fun_ , am I right?"  
  
Inaho couldn't respond, so he just dumbly nodded along.  
  
_Don't cry here, don't cry here, don't, not here, just not here._  
  
When they made it to school, Inaho went straight to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. He gripped the sides of the sink tight in his hands, staring at the water droplets that slid down the porcelain and towards the drain.  
  
_Calm down. You're a kid who fought in a war that never existed here. No one needs to know about those things, those thoughts, those pains. Everything's fine._  
  
He looked up at his reflection. Two eyes stared back at him. He hated how unnatural it felt now.

.

.

.

  
Just as Slaine had said, they only shared a few classes, so he didn't see him in his first few classes. Not until lunch, when Slaine entered the room and went to his desk to eat.  
  
Inaho, eating his own lunch, subtly observed him.  
  
_He brings his own lunch, it seems. It looks like it's made at home, and not bought from the store. Since he's home alone for so long, it's safe to say he knows how to cook at a basic level at the very least._  
  
He wondered if the other Slaine knew how to cook too.  
  
He wondered if the other Slaine was autistic too.  
  
Even though Slaine was right, that just because they were both autistic didn't mean they would get along, Inaho couldn't help feeling just a bit more connected to him. Because that meant Slaine understood the world in a different way too, and even though it might be different to how Inaho views it, he was sure that meant they understood it in a more similar way than either of their peers did.  
  
Calm nudged him playfully, and when Inaho looked at him, he waggled his eyebrows.  
  
"Sooo?"  
  
Inaho blinked at him, patiently waiting for him to continue, and took a bite of his lunch.  
  
"Slaine walked you home yesterday." He said. "Did you make your move?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't play coy with me! You know, did you _tell_ him?"  
  
"Tell him what?"  
  
Calm put his head in his arms, in a look of disappointment.  
  
"So you _didn't_."  
  
"Didn't what?" Inaho pressed.  
  
Calm looked left and right, before leaning closer to Inaho and talking quieter.  
  
"Did you tell him you like him?"  
  
Inaho blinked. "We agreed that while we're not friends, we're at the very least, classmates."  
  
"So he turned you down?"  
  
Inaho tilted his head in a questioning gesture.  
  
"So you did chicken out, huh? You know, that would have been a good time!"  
  
"A good time to what?"  
  
Calm sighed dramatically. "To ask him out on a date, Inaho!"  
  
Inaho felt his world slow down.  
  
Why would he ask Slaine on a date?  
  
_Did you tell him you like him?_ Calm had asked him.  
  
Did Inaho like him? _Like_ -like him? _Love_ him, even?  
  
He was feeling a bit sick again, but this time it was more manageable and he could ignore it.  
  
  
During the class after lunch, Inaho got to listen to Slaine answer questions the teacher posed. It was odd, but seeing him in an academic setting really suited him. It kind of made Inaho sad.  
  
Slaine had to go to a different class after that one, due to having different language skills (Inaho had an advanced grammar and literature class, and Slaine, a transfer student from abroad, had a class with a small group of other transfer kids to improve their language and kanji skills).  
  
During that class, Inaho had ended up dozing off, and was having a lovely time listening to the teacher's droning voice fade away slowly.  
  
Until said teacher quietly walked to his desk, and suddenly slammed his hands on Inaho's desk to wake him. The loud sound, so close, was _jarring_ and Inaho moved completely on instinct. He reached out and, as soon as he had a grip on the force in front of him, he shoved _backwards,_ trying to get the threat away from him. His eyes focused enough to see that it was a person, and then he quickly realized he was in school. He had laid his hands on his teacher.  
  
"Sorry." He said. "You startled me." Which was a simple excuse, but one that worked just fine in his original reality, where everyone else was just as hypersensitive to sounds and personal bubbles being invaded.  
  
The teacher dusted off a sleeve and glared at him.  
  
"Detention, Kaizuka-kun." He said simply, and went back to teaching.  
  
  
After school, Inaho was one of only three students with detention. Slaine was one of them, and the other was a guy who promptly took a nap after settling into a seat towards the back of the class as soon as the attending teacher left the room.  
  
If Slaine had noticed Inaho, he didn't say anything to show it. He had his head propped against his arm, a pen in his hand and notebook in front of him, as he stared out the window.  
  
Inaho moved to sit next to him.  
  
"What did you do?" He asked, curious what wrong the blond had committed.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it." He said stubbornly, voice somewhat muffled against his arm.  
"What'd _you_ do?" He asked, like he didn't think Inaho would answer.  
  
"Shoved a teacher."  
  
Slaine stopped what he was doing and raised his head up to look at him. "Why?"  
  
"He took me by surprise, and I didn't realize where I was."  
  
Slaine took in his words, and then he sat up straight, staring at the desk in front of him.  
  
"Me too."  
  
Inaho blinked at him, surprised.  
  
_Wait a minute, is THIS Slaine actually THAT Slaine? Just like how I am not from this world, neither is he!?_  
  
"Tell me." Inaho requested.  
  
Slaine didn't move nor look at him.  
  
"I forgot I was here. In _Japan_. I... When I was a kid, something bad happened once. Since then, I'm not so good with very loud sounds. Sometimes it just startles me, sometimes I zone out when I hear it. The teacher thought I was ignoring him so I got detention."  
  
_Or not..._  
  
"Well that's dumb."  
  
Slaine laughed quietly.  
  
Inaho realized his wording could've been taken the wrong way (" _It's dumb that you get that way_ ") so he was relieved Slaine seemed to have taken it the way he actually meant it.  
  
Inaho happened to glance down and saw Slaine's notebook, where the scenery from outside the window was sketched roughly in pencil. Slaine tried to hide it by flipping the page, but Inaho just leaned down and picked the page up, so Slaine relented and flipped it back with a sigh.  
  
"It was just something to pass the time, so it's not actually accurate."  
  
"No, it's just that I didn't know you could draw at all."  
  
"I have to have _some_ ability. I... I'd like to be an architect one day. Maybe. I don't know."  
  
He started the sentence off strongly, but then his voice trailed off self-consciously.  
  
Inaho stared at him, surprised.  
  
This Slaine had dreams and aspirations for the future, because _this_ Slaine was never forced to take over a war he didn't actually want to be part of. _This_ Slaine had never been forced to become everyone's scapegoat. _This_ Slaine never shot him in the head. _This_ Slaine never had to kill _anyone_.  
  
"Then do it." Inaho said.  
  
Slaine looked over at him.  
  
"Be an architect. I bet you'd be great at it."  
  
Slaine smiled warmly, and Inaho's heart skipped a beat, though he wasn't entirely sure why.  
  
_Because the other Slaine would never make that expression?_  
  
"Thanks, Inaho. That really means a lot to hear someone say so." He flipped the notebook shut, a faint pink to his face.  
"What about you?"  
  
Inaho looked away from him, staring at the desk in front of him instead.  
  
In his reality, he was a semi-retired military guy. He got a bunch of money when the war was over, and once he was fully retired, he would get a monthly check that he would continue to receive until he died. He didn't have to _do_ anything anymore. The only reason he wasn't fully retired was because there was still stuff to do in regards to rebuilding and re-stabilizing Earth.  
  
And visiting Slaine, and taking care of his case, since he was one of very few that even knew he was alive.  
  
But... In the event he was stuck here for the rest of his life... He'd have to actually do something.  
  
"I... Don't know." He said finally.  
  
Slaine didn't seem bothered by the answer. "Well, we're still young. You have time to figure it out still. You're good at just about everything, so it's really just a question of what do you _like_ to do?"  
  
Inaho really didn't know what he liked anymore.  
  
Slaine didn't seem to mind his silence though.  
  
"How'd you decide you wanted to be an architect?" Inaho asked eventually.  
  
"I like buildings. I don't know how to explain it any better... At first I thought of being a teacher, but that's plan B now."  
  
"For what age group?"  
  
"Hm... Elementary school kids I guess. Maybe Middle school. High schoolers are mean." He joked.  
  
But Inaho agreed. "All kids are mean."  
  
"People are just mean." Slaine added somberly. "But, there are nice people too. I guess I always thought about how influential some teachers are in a kid's life. It can really help shape your worldview when you're young."  
  
Slaine stood up from his seat.  
  
Inaho nodded. "What would you teach?"  
  
Slaine walked over to the chalkboard and picked up a piece. "If it's elementary, I'd have to teach a little bit of everything. But for older kids? Hm... Biology?"  
  
"Art?"  
  
"Art tends to be a friendly class. I want to teach something that kids struggle with, something _important_." He wrote up a formula from their earlier class on the board. "Maybe Chemistry." He said.  
  
Inaho felt his heart lodge itself in his throat.  
  
There was no way the other Slaine would ever be allowed around children anymore.  
  
_Unless we changed his identity I guess... Or he could maybe teach university._  
  
Inaho stood up and walked to Slaine's side.  
  
"You know a lot." Inaho said, looking at the math on the board.  
  
"My dad has two doctorate degrees, one in biology and the other in chemistry. So I picked up a lot of it. I like sciences and math."  
  
"And art?"  
  
"And art. I guess..." He set the piece of chalk back down. "The world is full of beautiful things, and wonderful people. There's so many amazing things to see, to hear, to learn... I want to know it all, and I want to help others see the beauty in _life_ and _living_."  
  
Inaho stared at him. His face lit from the windows light behind him, his eyes sparkling, staring at the board. Inaho felt in awe of him, _everything_ about him.  
  
Slaine Troyard was a good soul with a good heart and a good mind.  
  
"You're beautiful." Inaho blurted out. He had meant it like, _you're a beautiful human being_ , but had neglected to keep the important parts of that sentence.  
  
Slaine looked at him, and as recognition of what Inaho said dawned on him, he looked away, and then at the floor. His face had turned red and flushed, and he shyly tucked a lock of hair behind his ear before fidgeting with the chain of his necklace.  
  
"Um... Thank you?" He breathed.  
  
The teacher returned.  
  
"You kids are still here? Go home already."  
  
The guy in the very back, dead asleep and snoring, had to be woken up by the teacher. He groggily grabbed his bag and left.  
  
Slaine and Inaho both grabbed their own stuff and left the classroom, but Slaine turned around, walking backwards through the empty halls, so he could face Inaho.  
  
"Do you want to do something?"  
  
Inaho blinked up at him. "Like what?"  
  
Slaine shrugged and glanced behind him, just to make sure he didn't bump into anything. "We could grab a bite to eat, or go out for coffee or something."  
  
_"I can't drink coffee."_ He almost said, but quickly did not.  
  
"Or... No?" Slaine asked, finally turning back around to walk forward like a normal person.  
  
"We can go out for coffee."  
  
  
The two went to a cafe that Slaine picked, since Inaho said he didn't really know where to go.  
  
"You've lived here longer than I have." Slaine pointed out.  
  
"I don't go out to cafes much."  
  
"Ahh, but Japan has cool themed ones, huh?" Slaine said thoughtfully.  
  
Inaho narrowed his eyes while he thought about it. "Like... Maid cafes?"  
  
"And cat cafes, and zodiac cafes, and all kinds!" Slaine said excitedly. "I want to try one sometime, but I haven't yet."  
  
"Why not? There's a cat cafe like three blocks that way... I think."  
  
Slaine chuckled. "Well, not those ones. I'm a little bit allergic to cats actually. Dogs, though! I want to go to a dog cafe!"  
  
Inaho was sure it existed, though he didn't know where one was.  
  
The two got their drinks and headed to a table, with Slaine taking off his school tie and sweater and stuffing it in his bag.  
  
"It's gotten so much warmer lately. It's nice." He said, sitting down and unbuttoning the cuffs, rolling them up to his elbows.  
  
Inaho didn't know why it was so mesmerizing to watch him do.  
  
A little girl who was leaving with her family stared at Slaine when they walked by, so Slaine smiled and waved at her.  
  
Inaho took a large sip of his drink, an iced coffee with whip cream and caramel drizzled on top.  
  
Each table was patterned like a different game, and had a zippered bag for any game pieces needed to play. Inaho tapped on the table.  
  
"Want to play?"  
  
Slaine smirked and interlocked his fingers, popping his knuckles. It was a face that was much more familiar to Inaho.  
  
"Hope you're ready to lose, _Orange_."  
  
Inaho, who had begun pulling out the pieces, froze. He stared at Slaine, continuing his movements to set up the chess table. Slaine helped, setting up his side with the black pieces.  
  
"You called me Orange..." He muttered softly.  
  
"Yeah, I haven't said it in a long time, huh? You haven't called me _Bat_ in a long time either though."  
  
"....Why did you call me 'Orange'?"  
  
Slaine hummed as he stared at the board, trying to plot his first move. "It was... Because of that hideous orange raincoat you wore last year. I didn't know your name for a bit, so I just called you that for the time being. You called me 'bat' because of my umbrella, I think? I don't remember it too well. It's kinda grown on me though, since I actually think bats are pretty cool."  
  
Slaine played the first piece.  
  
"Oh." Inaho breathed. _Such a simple reason... Nothing to do with sleek black sky carriers, or big orange kataphrakts..._  
  
At the end of their game, Inaho stared dumbly at the board.  
  
How did Slaine win?  
  
_It's because he kept distracting me._ Inaho decided.  
  
"How about a rematch?" Inaho asked.  
  
"Why would I want a rematch? I won." Slaine teased. "Chess is a game of simulated war. Your king is dead now."  
  
"Perhaps he was only captured."  
  
Slaine shook his head, but began helping him reset the board anyway. "I would kill the king I captured. It prevents his escape, and lowers moral for the losing side, preventing a strong second wave of rebellion so soon after the initial battle."  
  
For a boy who never fought in a war, Inaho was a little surprised just how ruthless he still was.  
  
_If Slaine had won the war... Would he have had me killed?_  
  
_Duh. Of course he would. He already tried to kill me once._  
  
It caused a knot in his stomach that he tried hard to ignore.  
  
"You go first." Slaine said, leaning his elbows on the table.  
  
"I thought my king was dead?"  
  
"Have some imagination!" Slaine smiled. "Perhaps the late king had loved ones who have come to avenge his death."  
  
They played silently for the most part, until Slaine worked up the courage to ask a question.  
  
"Did you mean what you said?"  
  
"Be more specific." Inaho said, taking a pawn.  
  
Slaine took a breath. "In detention. You..." Slaine took a rook. "You said I was good-looking."  
  
"I said you were _beautiful_."  
  
Slaine said nothing.  
  
Realizing how Slaine had interpreted it, Inaho corrected it. "I meant you're a good person. _Beautiful_. On the inside."  
  
"O-oh." Slaine still seemed flustered by the compliment.  
  
Calm's words echoed back in Inaho's mind.  
  
_"Did you tell him you like him?"_ and _"To ask him out on a date, Inaho!"_  
  
He swallowed the lump in his throat with a swig of his drink. He had barely drank half of it, but Slaine's was nearly empty, save for some foam and residual chocolate syrup at the bottom.  
  
"You're good-looking too though." Inaho said.  
  
If this was going to be some strange but idyllic world, then he might as well roll with it, before it turned into another nightmare world, like the ones he was used to.  
  
Slaine laughed, mostly out of nerves. He rested his cheek against his fist as he tried to concentrate on the chess board, since it was his turn now. He was smiling.  
  
He made a reckless move, and Inaho took his piece straight away.  
  
Slaine stood up abruptly from his seat. "I'm going to get a snack. Do you want anything?"  
  
Inaho shook his head.  
  
"Are you sure? I'm paying~" He sing-songed, waving his wallet enticingly.  
  
Inaho looked over his shoulder at the display case.  
  
"Anything from the second row looks good."  
  
Slaine nodded and walked away.  
  
Inaho leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He glanced over his shoulder again to see Slaine order something, as well as pointing at what he wanted.  
  
Inaho stared at the chess game in front of him.  
  
As much as he was enjoying the world as if Heaven's Fall and Earth Fall had never happened, he really wanted to go home. Go back to his usual routines. Go back to where everyone else had PTSD too. Go back to having one eye, and getting migraines, and wishing life had been simpler.  
  
Complaining was easier than pretending nothing was bad in the first place.  
  
Slaine returned, placing a plate of raspberry cake in front of Inaho. He himself had a bowl of ice cream, colored in pale green.  
  
"You know what I love about Japan?" Slaine said casually. "All the matcha stuff! It's hard to find in Western countries, but I love it! It's so refreshing."  
  
Inaho dug into the cake, and it was delicious, but he knew he would hardly remember it later. He was in a bad state of mind right now, and his mind was just going in circles.  
  
_I would say it's because I haven't taken any medication in 2 days, but I'm also not sure how this all works with brain chemistry, since I have my eye... So am I in an entirely different body? Surely that has to be it, in which case, I shouldn't even have my own memories, because the brain should belong to this body too, but..._  
  
The brain and consciousness were topics that no one knew about for sure, so Inaho could theorize about it all day...  
  
...But right now, he was getting impatient, and huffy, and annoyed at playing so much pretend. He knew how the other Slaine was, more or less, so this Slaine was much more vexing for him, because he was just too _normal_.  
  
He was going to school.  
  
He was planning for the future.  
  
He was thinking about what job he would do.  
  
It bugged him. He wanted to understand Slaine better, and decided to just ask point-blank, tired of it all now.  
  
"Slaine." He said, interrupting whatever the blond had been talking about now. Inaho had no idea, because he stopped listening. "Do you have a crush on me?"  
  
It felt bizarre to ask, and if this were the Slaine he knew, he would be getting laughed at. Slaine would probably laugh himself to tears, clutching hard at his stomach, and then he would make fun of him for asking such a thing.  
  
But this Slaine?  
  
The Slaine that didn't hate him, that never harmed him, that asked him out to coffee and bought him a cake?  
  
His voice died in his throat, and his face looked a little pink, and he wouldn't look at Inaho at all.  
  
He twirled the spoon in his hand in a fidget-y gesture.  
  
"W-well... What about you?"  
  
"I asked you first."  
  
Slaine scoffed, and that too was at least a little more familiar. "What a childish thing to say..." He muttered. "What are you, 8?"  
  
Slaine was deflecting the question. He didn't want to answer definitively. He was protecting himself.  
  
_Is he really acting as if he's so fragile?_

He was irritated. He didn't want to play these games anymore. He didn't want to entertain these _frivolous_ boring teenage situations anymore. He had more important things to worry about, and the thought that he might be stuck here forever was making him feel like a caged animal who wanted nothing more than to break out and return to where he belonged.  
  
Inaho finished his cake, only having two small bites left, and stood up, grabbing his bag.  
  
"Ina-?" Slaine choked out, quickly finishing his ice cream and following after him, barely remembering to grab his own bag.  
  
Outside, the cool breeze hit them both, but both acted as if they didn't notice how chilly it had gotten as the sun dipped low in the sky.  
  
"What's with you?" Slaine called after him as he caught up.  
  
"I asked a simple yes or no question." Inaho said. "And I'm not interested in playing a game of wits with you right now." He meant their usual, trying to decode what the other said because the way they spoke was too different, but he didn't know if Slaine would realize that's what he meant, or if he would think he meant the chess game.  
  
Slaine walked faster and got in front of Inaho, making him stop walking.  
  
"What, are you _mad_?"  
  
"A little bit." He answered honestly, shoving past him.  
  
"Because I didn't say yes, or because I didn't say no?"  
  
"Because you didn't answer me at all!"  
  
It came out a bit stronger than Inaho would've liked, too angry, too emotional, too _much_. He didn't like when that happened. It was rare, but it had happened before.  
  
Slaine grabbed the back strap of Inaho book-bag, yanking him to a halt.  
  
"Stop walking away!" Slaine demanded. "I'm trying to talk to you!"  
  
Inaho spun around. "I don't want to _talk_ , I just want an _answer_ , Bat!"  
  
Slaine clenched his jaw, but said nothing.  
  
Inaho turned around and started walking away again.  
  
He was forced to a halt by Slaine once again grabbing onto the strap of his bag.  
  
"Let go of me." Inaho demanded, but in better control of his voice.  
  
He felt Slaine's forehead lean down to rest against his back.  
  
"Yes." He said softly.  
  
Inaho didn't move. He didn't know what to say.  
  
"Sorry." Slaine said, moving back and letting go of his strap. He pat the strap against Inaho's back, pushing him forward half a step. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

.

.

.

Inaho woke up in bed, a wet rag on his forehead that slid to his lap when he sat up.  
  
"Yuki?" He called out, and just as he expected, his sister appeared in the room in a flash.  
  
"Nao! Are you feeling better?"  
  
He blinked up at her. "What happened?"  
  
She smiled at him. "Your cold turned into a horrible fever. You've been asleep for 12 hours! I told you that was too much medicine to take."  
  
Inaho _did_ seem to recall taking more than the recommended dose of medicine now that she mentioned it.  
  
_Well.... That explains the odd dream I had._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning for this chapter: Some violence. Some assault (I'm hesitant to say sexual, because it's not sex, but I'm warning for it all the same).

Inaho went to the manor by the sea, and felt somewhat giddy at the thought of finally seeing the Slaine he was used to.  
  
He was disappointed in himself when he felt a little sad at only having one eye again, so he tried not to think too hard about it.  
  
_I thought I was over it but..._  
  
_...Ahh, I miss the analytical engine._  
  
Walking into the room surrounded by soundproof, and bulletproof, glass, seeing Slaine sitting at that metal table, Inaho felt relieved. It was over, he was finally back in a normal place where everything made sense again. Where he knew what to expect and how to respond.  
  
Sitting across from Slaine, Inaho went straight into it.  
  
"I have a few questions."  
  
"Depending on what they are, I may or may not answer, but _shoot_." Slaine answered casually.  
  
Inaho didn't appreciate the expression, and the look on Slaine's face told him that Slaine didn't expect him to like it. But he had said it anyway. Inaho decided not to say anything about it.  
  
"Some could be considered fairly personal, but to be frank, they're from a place of curiosity. Nothing in particular will change coming from your answers. However, with regards to your continuing rehabilitation, certain answers may be helpful in determining your future."  
  
Slaine waved a hand to tell him to get on with it.  
  
"Can you cook?"  
  
Slaine already seemed weirded out by the question. "...Not very well."  
  
"Ah, a basic level then. Just as I thought."  
  
Slaine frowned. "I cooked for myself as a kid a lot, so of course it's simple. That doesn't mean it's bad."  
  
"I didn't say anything of the sort. Moving on, how fond are you of sweets?"  
  
Slaine looked even _more_ weirded out, if that was possible.  
  
"Not much, honestly."  
  
"Do you prefer warmer climates, or cooler ones?"  
  
"Hm..." He thought about it for a moment, already looking relaxed again. "I guess I don't have much of a preference. I don't get hot or cold easily." He looked down at his own bare forearms, his hands laced together on the table.  
"I burn if I get too much sun though."  
  
"That's what sunscreen is for."  
  
Slaine sighed tiredly, like it was something he heard all his life. "I'd need like, SPF 150 or something equally as ridiculous."  
  
"Are you allergic to cats or dogs?"  
  
He shook his head but then stilled. "Cats, maybe. I don't know about now. I might've outgrown it."  
  
"Dogs?"  
  
"Dogs are okay." He said in a gentle tone.  
  
"Have you ever been to Japan or America when you were younger?"  
  
"Both." He said in English. " _Fukusu-kai_." He added in Japanese, but switched back to English right after. "But don't ask me anything complicated. I don't remember a lot of it."  
  
"Then, moving on, when you were younger, or even now, what kind of job would you like to go to school for?"  
  
"Oh?" His face looked disinterested. "Are you gonna let me out to go to school, Kaizuka?" He hummed as he thought about it. "As a kid? Hm... I thought of being a scientist like my dad once, but I wasn't very passionate about it, so I thought I might not be allowed." He laughed self-deprecatingly.  
" _Ahh_ , the mind of a child."  
  
"What did you like doing?"  
  
Slaine got a faraway look in his eyes, and looked towards the wall, as if there was a window to look out of.  
  
"I liked..." His voice was soft and quiet. "I liked to explore the towns we would move to. I liked picking up the local languages. I liked sightseeing and getting lost. I liked taking photos and trying to draw them on our long road trips." He laughed again, still self-deprecatingly, but somehow more fond. Warmer.  
"Trying to do so with a 12-pack of crayola is not easy, I tell you!"  
  
Inaho latched onto the comment. "You liked to draw?"  
  
"What child doesn't?" But then he gave Inaho a strange look. "Don't tell me you didn't, I won't believe it."  
  
"I did."  
  
He smiled and shook his head. "So even you had a somewhat normal childhood..." He muttered quietly.  
"I..." He started, seemed to think better of it, and then decided he didn't care after all.  
"I once thought to be an architect. _Silly_."  
  
"What's so silly about it?"  
  
He sighed deeply. "The dreams of a child, nothing more."  
  
"I'll only ask one more question for today."  
  
"How kind of you." He muttered.  
  
"Are you autistic?"  
  
Slaine seemed surprised by the question. "Where's that coming from?"  
  
It was the first time he had refused to outright answer that day.  
  
"Call it a hunch."  
  
"Why, because every person who's done something bad has to be mentally different? Well, maybe it's true, after all..."  
  
"That's not what I meant."  
  
"I caused no one any problems as a child."  
  
"I didn't say that you did."  
  
"I-" He cut himself off and sighed, playing with the pendant of his necklace. "If you know, just say that you know. Don't you have my medical history or anything? Oh, well, actually, I don't think that was ever written down."  
  
"I do have that, and no, it wasn't written."  
  
"It's just that, my father was so smart, and he was around a lot of scientists and I mean, maybe _he_ was too... They say that kind of thing is genetic... But he just said that's what it was, and why I was the way that I was..." He looked sad now. "He would be... So disappointed..."  
  
Inaho stood up shortly after that.  
  
"Thank you for your cooperation. Perhaps next time we could play a game, if you're feeling up to it."  
  
Slaine waved a hand dismissively at him.

.

.

.  
  
The next time Inaho went to visit Slaine, it was a warm Spring day, and he decided that he and Slaine could have their meeting outside, much to the displeasure of the guards.  
  
But they trusted him, and he was in charge after all.  
  
They refused at first to let Slaine be un-handcuffed though, even though Inaho protested. Slaine, interested in having not only time outdoors, but also un-cuffed, plead his case as well.  
  
He fake-tested the strength of the chain between his wrists. "Huh, this would be a lot easier to choke someone with compared to bare handed."  
  
They uncuffed him right after, taking the cuffs into their custody for the time being.  
  
Slaine smiled wolfishly at them. "Thank you." He said with mock-kindness.  
  
They knew immediately he was not actually serious.  
  
"Don't be cruel." Inaho said, moving to sit in the grass under the sun. They were out of the guards' view, but he didn't really care.  
  
"Ha! You say that like I have not treated you even worse." Slaine said, sitting next to him, his arms resting atop his knees.  
  
Slaine picked one of the small white flowers the dotted the yard and twirled its thin stem back and forth between his thumb and index finger.  
  
"Do you hate me?" Inaho asked.  
  
"Does it hurt your ego if someone doesn't like you? Well, I suppose you're not entirely unpleasant. I can't say I hate you anymore, to be honest."  
A small bird in a nearby tree caught his eye, and he watched it flutter about its nest.  
  
Inaho swallowed the lump in his throat.  
  
His heart was beating fast in his chest.  
  
"Do you have a crush on me?"  
  
Inaho waited for the laughter, the tears Slaine would inevitably wipe away, his side he would clutch at, asking if Inaho had finally gone mad...  
  
Instead, Slaine did none of that.  
  
But nor did he get flustered and shy like the Slaine from his dreams, who knew nothing about war, and whose greatest worries were about tests and friends.  
  
He looked away from the tree and at Inaho, face blank, no outward emotion.  
  
Inaho always thought of Slaine as being fairly emotional, so sometimes he forgot that he was also the boy who clawed his way to the top of the Versian political system.  
  
Of course he would have a good poker face.  
  
Slaine continued to stare at him. Inaho didn't know what he was thinking, but he didn't think he had ever been stared at for so long when he asked a question. His ears were starting to grow warm.  
  
"Did you not hear me-"  
  
Slaine leaned over and, before Inaho could think to even move, he kissed him, right on the lips. It wasn't a quick peck, as it lasted a few solid seconds, but it was a simple kiss, with no tongue or biting or anything daring he might've associated with _Slaine_ and _kissing_.  
  
Slaine pulled back, and gently tucked the flower behind Inaho's left ear.  
  
He was smiling, just a little. "You're cute, but I think that's a dangerous idea you have growing in your head there."  
  
His arms tingled with goosebumps, but he also felt like he had been punched in the gut.  
  
"I didn't have any ideas growing in my head. It was a simple yes or no question." He said quickly, wondering when his breathing would feel normal again.  
  
Slaine didn't look like he believed him.  
  
"Kaizuka, reverse-Stockholm-syndrome is a real thing. Look it up. Don't ruin yourself over me. You have a lot of your life left to live first."  
  
Inaho frowned. He didn't like being told what to do on a _good day_ , much less by Slaine Troyard.  
  
Even if it was actually _good_ advice.  
  
"You didn't answer my question." He said stubbornly.  
  
Slaine frowned at him, a small wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows.  
  
"Don't push this, _Inaho_." He said his name in such a harsh and mocking way, and Inaho was sure it was the first time he had referred to him by only his first name. "Neither of us will come out of it without some scars to show for it."  
  
"We both already have a bunch of scars. What's a few more?"  
  
Inaho really didn't know why he was actually pushing for it.  
  
Slaine looked unhappy.  
  
"I'm serious! Stop being such an idiot!" Slaine said loudly, before quieting back down. "I know you've never been wrong in your life, but don't make me prove it to you."  
  
Inaho took that as a challenge. "Don't make me prove _you_ wrong, _Slaine_."  
  
Which Slaine took as a challenge.  
  
"Just remember," Slaine said, his voice low as he sat up on his knees. " _You're_ the one who wanted this." He pushed forward, pressing Inaho flat to the ground, yanking the eye-patch off Inaho's face.  
  
Which Inaho _did not like_. He tried to fight back, but Slaine grabbed both of his hands and held them tight above his head, and sat atop Inaho, making him unable to kick him as he had been about to do.  
  
"Slaine, Sto-!"  
  
Slaine leaned forward and kissed him _hard_. He licked Inaho's lips, but Inaho had clenched his teeth shut and struggled against him. Slaine then began to bite at him, soft nips once or twice, before biting just as hard as his kissing was.  
  
Inaho was _angry_.  
  
_Beyond angry_ , even.  
  
He managed to yank a single hand free and acted purely on instinct. He punched Slaine in the face with all his might. Afterwards, he managed to get his other hand free and maneuver himself out from under Slaine, panting hard and with more anger than he knew what to do with. He grabbed the eye-patch off the ground and put it back on, making sure there wasn't any dirt or pieces of grass on it first.  
  
The guards, who had heard Inaho's voice raise a moment ago, had come to investigate, and saw Inaho punch Slaine, before getting away from him, and suspected it had been an attack. Slaine was re-cuffed and pulled to his feet by a guard at either arm.  
  
Inaho pressed a finger to his sore lip, and came away with pink spots of blood from all of Slaine's biting.  
  
"You're insane." Inaho said angrily, glaring at the blond.  
  
Slaine flashed his teeth in what might either be described as a smirk or a grimace. "See? I was right, _Kærasti_."  
  
Slaine was taken back to his room, and Inaho left.  
  
But Inaho couldn't even go home, not like _this_. Instead, he went to a training hall to work off the steam.  
  
He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so enraged.  
  
_Yes I can. When Okojo was murdered in front of my eyes... But it was anger at Nilokeras, at Martians, at MYSELF._  
  
_But that was different..._  
  
_When I was picked on at the orphanage? And I made that trap for revenge._  
  
But now he felt _worse_ than he had back then. This was just...  
  
"What's _wrong_ with him!?" He shouted to empty space, completely alone, his voice echoing back at him in the large room.  
  
But, no, the worst part was, he _knew_ what was wrong with Slaine. It was his own PTSD and issues, and his own way of coping.  
  
"He's so self-destructive..." Inaho grumbled, turning on the pitching machine.  
  
It was the training room from a school, converted to military use during the war, and was going to reopen next year as a school again. For now, military personnel were still allowed to use it, though hardly anyone did.  
  
Inaho missed playing baseball with his friends during school fitness exercises. He was better at pitching than catching, but even then he was never very good at the game, though it was fun all the same. They were kids. They had fun.  
  
He loaded the machine with balls, picked up a nearby bat, and twirled it in his hands.  
  
He hadn't done this in ages.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung, and missed horribly.  
  
He was bad _before_ , when he had two eyes, and now he only had _one_ , making him _worse_.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung, he missed.  
  
He adjusted his stance and waited.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung, he missed.  
  
He pursed his lips, but they still hurt from where Slaine had bit him.  
  
"Like he's actually some blood-sucking _bat_..." He grumbled, annoyed.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung _hard_ , and missed.  
  
Getting annoyed with _himself_ , he stood up straight and held the bat straight. The ball flew by, and he watched, judged the height and figured up how many seconds it took from ejecting from the machine to getting within his swinging range.  
  
That did it.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung, and a satisfying sound erupted from his hitting the ball. It bounced somewhere against the opposite wall.  
  
He adjusted his grip and got ready to hit the next one too.  
  
A ball flew by, he swung, he hit it.  
  
And the next one he hit with all his might.  
  
His knuckles still hurt from punching Slaine so hard in the face.  
  
_I hope I didn't break anything. That would be troublesome.... I hope I didn't break Slaine's jaw or loosen a tooth either. That would be troublesome too._  
  
He frowned. No. He was still angry, and he didn't want to be sympathetic yet.  
  
He imagined Slaine's head was the next ball, but he pulled back at the last second, not hitting it. He turned around and took a deep breath.  
  
The thought alone was too dark for him to follow up on. Because he had a good imagination, despite what some people think, and he didn't want to consequently imagine what it would be like to _actually_ hit someone over the head with a baseball bat. It made him feel a little sick.  
  
The next ball flew by without him even looking.  
  
He took another breath and got back into his stance.  
  
He thought back on his and Slaine's interaction.  
  
Slaine had kissed him. Slaine had called him ' _cute_ '. Those were both fine and gentle things. But then Slaine shoved him down and pulled off his eye-patch.  
  
Which had actually frightened Inaho, when he thought back on it.  
  
_What was he doing...?_  
  
It still made his heart quicken its pace.  
  
Slaine had held him down so roughly, and kissed him so roughly, and bit him so roughly...  
  
Inaho didn't feel angry anymore, but he was still uneasy.  
  
_Okay. So he simply wanted me to be wrong, and made sure that I would regret pushing the matter._  
  
Inaho wondered...  
  
_Is he scared?_  
  
He walked over to the machine and turned it off. He was tired and he was getting a headache, and he wanted nothing more than to go home to Yuki's kind coddling.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated, and felt his fingers catch on something. He pulled on it, and pulled out the small white flower Slaine had put in his hair.  
  
He stared at it, twirling it in his fingers.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what shall befall our star-crossed heroes next? Find out next time!
> 
> In all seriousness, I will probably upload the next chapter sometime this weekend. I just wanted to go ahead and get this chapter out since the first chapter was so "Gakuen AU" and I wanted to be clear that this story is definitely set post-series.
> 
> These boys both have a lot of issues they need to work out, huh...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Slaine and Inaho go back and forth between being the mature and responsible one.

Inaho didn't visit Slaine for two weeks. He had tried twice, but chickened out once, and the second time he ended up nearly forgetting he promised to go clothes shopping with Yuki. She got pretty mad when he suggested rescheduling, so he complied and went with her.   
  
Now everything was properly taken care of, and Inaho felt calmer too.  
  
Slaine was sitting in the room when Inaho arrived, arms crossed on the table in front of him as he looked down, his bangs covering his face.  
  
He didn't seem to notice when Inaho entered, as he didn't move.  
  
"Your hair's gotten pretty long. Let me know if you want it cut, and I'll arrange it."  
  
Slaine _jumped_ at Inaho's voice, hissing a sharp intake of breath, which he quietly exhaled.   
  
"I didn't mean to startle you." Inaho said, pulling out a chair to sit in.  
  
Slaine opened his mouth, but nothing came out.   
  
The two sat in silence for a moment. When Inaho couldn't handle it any longer, he reiterated his earlier statement.  
  
"Does your hair not bother you? It's fine if you want to grow it out, of course."  
  
Slaine didn't answer him, instead he apologized. "I'm sorry."  
  
Inaho didn't really come up with a good plan should Slaine bring up the incident, so he wasn't sure what to say.  
  
"For what I did." He added, trying to be more clear. "I wasn't- I didn't..." He took a breath, and Inaho thought it sounded annoyed. Annoyed at himself. He wondered if Slaine had practiced his apology. Slaine tried again,  
"I can't _not_ hurt you, don't you see that? I only meant to show you how wrong you were, and to make you come to your senses... But I admit I went too far. I apologize. I am not asking for your forgiveness, but all the same, I wanted to apologize."  
  
"I appreciate it. And I do forgive you."  
  
Actually, Inaho wasn't sure if he had fully forgiven him, but he saw the way Slaine's hands were clutching at his arms, his fingertips leaving white spots on his arm where they were starting to dig in. He hated to see Slaine be so affected by his own guilt.  
  
At Inaho's words, his grip loosened enough for the white spots to fade and turn a little red.  
  
Inaho continued. "But I still think you're wrong."  
  
Slaine's head snapped up to his. "Huh? About what?"  
  
"Nevermind that for now." Inaho said. "Instead, let's play a game today."  
  
Slaine opened his mouth to protest, but shut it. He sighed quietly.   
  
"Chess, I'm guessing..."  
  
"Will you play?"  
  
He sighed again, and did not answer.  
  
"I want to know if you can win in a chess game or not."  
  
"It's the one thing I can deny you, Kaizuka, so I will continue saying no. If only for that reason."  
  
 _That's awfully stubborn._  
  
Inaho began setting up the board anyway. "If you had won the war, would you have had me killed?"  
  
Slaine propped his chin up in one hand. "Probably."  
  
"You're not sure?"  
  
"Politics are complicated like that."  
  
"At the very end then, in the Moon-base, would you have kept me alive if you had caught me?"  
  
"Hm..." He hummed in thought. "It's an option, but you're so crafty, I would have worried about you busting out. Besides, I ended up not taking _any_ prisoners. Vers is too small, and the rate of backstabbings too great, to trust like that."  
  
That made sense.   
  
Inaho moved a pawn and waited, giving Slaine time to decide he wanted to play after all.  
  
Slaine didn't move, so Inaho played his side as well.  
  
"Do you hate me?" Slaine asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"...No."  
  
"You should."  
  
"I know."  
  
The two were silent during the rest of the game, and Slaine even let his eyes slip closed while he listened to the quiet sounds of the pieces against the board when Inaho made a move.  
  
When Inaho got one side in checkmate finally (he couldn't even remember which side he had originally been playing), he glanced up to see Slaine with his eyes closed, chin still propped up in his hand.  
  
He leaned across the table and reached a hand out. He wanted to touch his hair, to brush his bangs from his eyes a little, or maybe to fix that one lock of hair that was on the wrong side of his near-nonexistent part.  
  
But Slaine's eyes snapped open, and it reminded Inaho of some sort of dangerous predatory animal, eyes sharp and bright. He wondered if Slaine could see in the dark somehow, before he figured that, logically, there was no way.  
  
Inaho sat back down, retracted his hand, and said nothing.  
  
"I wasn't asleep." Slaine informed him. He brushed a finger across his bangs himself, and muttered quietly, "You really are hopeless..."  
  
Inaho slumped into the back of his chair.   
  
_I really am hopeless..._ He agreed.  
  
"I dislike being so subtle-" Inaho said.  
  
"Trust me, you're not being subtle in the least."  
  
Inaho frowned, but continued. "Do you want to do something?"  
  
"Such as?"  
  
Inaho shrugged. "Grab a bite to eat, or go out for coffee, or something like that?"  
  
Slaine burst out laughing, his voice echoing on the walls around them. He pressed a fist to his mouth and quieted his own laugh, but his breathing was ragged with repressed laughter, and his shoulders bounced.   
  
He took a breath and sat back, but when he saw the look on Inaho's face, the smile slipped right off.  
  
"Oh dear lord, you're serious."  
  
Inaho stood up and pushed in his chair.  
  
"Come on."  
  
"How... In the _hell_ are you going to convince them to let me out? Actually-" Slaine stood up too. "I do want to see you try this. I'm game."  
  
The two stepped out of the glass room, where the guard looked ready to take Slaine back to his room before Inaho stopped him.  
  
"Actually I'm taking him somewhere." Inaho said vaguely.  
  
The guard looked visibly uncomfortable.  
  
"It's for medical reasons." He lied. "A car is already on its way."  
  
The guard still looked uncomfortable, but let them pass, following behind just in case.  
  
 _It seems his little stunt from before put them on edge._  
  
The guard seemed content by the time they reached the front door, and turned around to inform the other guards.

  
  
Outside, there was actually a car, which surprised Slaine a bit.  
  
But more than that, he was surprised that Inaho's plan was working.   
  
"You'll have to drive." Inaho said, opening up the passenger door. He nodded at Slaine, signaling him to hop in.   
  
Slaine felt odd and uneasy about this.  
  
"You're insane." Slaine mumbled, opening the car door and getting in. "How'd you even get here?"  
  
"A guard drove me. I was going to be picked up by someone else, but they won't arrive unless I call them."  
  
Slaine turned the key, still in the ignition, and adjusted one of the mirrors.  
  
"Seatbelt." Inaho reminded, clicking his own in place.  
  
Slaine turned towards his right, then his left, before he found it and put it on.  
  
"Habit." He said quietly. "The majority of Versian vehicles don't have 'em, and no one uses them when they do."  
  
Inaho watched Slaine mess with the knobs until he found the blinker, then he looked at the gear shift for a second before putting it into reverse, finally pulling out onto the road.  
  
"Quick heads-up." Slaine said once they were on the road, going the direction Inaho told him to go. "I've never driven a _car_ before. If I do something dumb you'll have to tell me, and right quick."  
  
"Noted. So far you're doing just fine though."  
  
Slaine glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "You really just let an evil dictator hop into the driver's seat of a car?"  
  
"I would object to your being _evil_ or a _dictator_ , personally. But I'd also like you not to prove me wrong at this point in time."  
  
Slaine seemed to realize it was a bit of a joke and chuckled.   
  
"Let me rephrase that." Slaine said, a small smile on his face the only evidence he _might_ be joking.  
"You really let a suicidal man behind the wheel of a car?"  
  
Inaho's mouth went dry. _Is Slaine really still in such a bad state? He had stopped talking about it so much, so I figured he had moved on from that line of thinking by now._  
  
"If you safely get us to where we're going, I'll buy you whatever you want though. It'd be a shame if you died before we got there."  
  
"Well, I suppose there's always time on the way back, after all."  
  
Inaho really wished he could tell when Slaine was joking or not.

.

.

.  
  
They safely reached the small town by the beach, and parked in a lot across from a cafe. Before they got out, Inaho handed him his dark blue jacket.  
  
"Don't want me to _look_ like a mental patient?" Slaine teased, putting it on.  
  
"If anything, you actually look a bit like a nurse."  
  
"Huh? That's preposterous."  
  
"It's because you have a nice face."  
  
Slaine snorted and got out of the car. He zipped up the coat and shoved his hands in the pockets. He followed Inaho across the street to the small cafe-bistro and vaguely wondered if anyone might recognize him.  
  
"What do you want?" Inaho asked as they got in line.  
  
Slaine ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the menu on the wall behind the counter.  
  
"Uh... Oh, geez, my Japanese reading skills are _not_ good. Um..."  
  
"Most cafes are the same. Just guess and I'm sure they have it."  
  
"Tea, then. I really don't care what kind. No wait, scratch that. I particularly dislike white teas."  
  
 _Duly noted._  
  
"To eat?"  
  
"I really don't care."  
  
Slaine glanced around the small cafe while Inaho ordered, kindly not leaving his side.  
  
Inaho was given a plastic placard with a number on it, and the two grabbed a table.  
  
"This was a bad idea." Slaine said, leaning on the table. "If someone recognizes me, won't you get in trouble too?"  
  
"The human brain is surprisingly easy to trick. Your hair is so much longer, and you're believed to be dead, and you're not wearing any red. No one will even think you have a _resemblance_."  
  
Slaine huffed a quiet laugh, but he seemed to relax a bit.  
  
"Question."   
  
Inaho raised his eyebrows, signaling for Slaine to go ahead.  
  
"Is this supposed to be a date?"  
  
"Do you want it to be?" Inaho asked.  
  
Slaine beckoned him a little closer with his finger, and leaned over the table a bit himself. Inaho leaned in. Slaine reached out and grabbed his tie, tightening it against his neck in one smooth motion.  
  
Inaho coughed and pulled back, immediately loosening it _far_ away from his neck, further than it was before.  
  
"Do you have to be such a dick?" Inaho said, glaring at him.  
  
Which, oddly enough, made Slaine crack a grin and almost laugh. "It's what I do best."  
  
"Can you try being nice for once?"  
  
Slaine glared at him then. " _I_ was trying to be an adult and _talk_ about things. I asked you a _simple yes or no question_."  
  
Inaho frowned at getting his words thrown back at him.  
  
"And I asked you one back."  
  
"Which is stupid. Don't answer a question with a question." Slaine said, crossing his arms. "Please." He added as an afterthought. It didn't sound genuine.  
  
Inaho looked out the window on the far wall. You could almost see the ocean from here.  
  
"I guess it might be a date."  
  
Slaine stared at him.  
  
"You _guess_? It _might_?"  
  
Inaho didn't respond.  
  
"I thought you hated being subtle?"  
  
"I'm still figuring some of it out myself."  
  
"You have a crush on me, huh?"  
  
"You kissed me first."  
  
Slaine stared out the window too. "It's not my fault you're kinda cute."  
  
"That's not an excuse to accost someone like that."  
  
"I apologized, didn't I? And you already forgave me, so let's forget it happened."  
  
Their drinks were brought shortly after that.   
  
Inaho had a fruit smoothie in a somewhat pinkish color. Slaine's was a bright green drink of a slush-y consistency.  
  
"What is it, kiwi, or lime, or something?" Slaine mumbled, taking a small sip of it.  
  
Inaho watched his reaction.  
  
Watched his eyes widen just a little.  
  
"I know this." He said quietly. "What is this? I know I know it... What's it called...?"  
  
"Do you want me to tell you?"  
  
"No." He said stubbornly, taking another sip. "It's... It's..."  
  
"It's-"  
  
"Shh!" He held a hand up at him. "It's green tea, right? But it was called, um..."  
  
Inaho was momentarily tempted to throw his straw wrapper at Slaine, but quickly set it down instead. Knowing how vengeful Slaine could get, he was liable to get his entire drink poured down the collar of his shirt.  
  
"Matcha." Inaho finally blurted out. He wondered if Slaine would get mad, but he didn't. He only smiled instead.  
  
"That's right." His eyes gained a faraway look to them. "When we lived in Japan once, the Summer that time was super hot. I remember having no appetite, so I all I ate for two days was matcha ice cream." He laughed.  
  
"Your father didn't stop you?" Inaho asked. He had heard of parents who were strict with how much sweets their kids could have. He had grown up only with Yuki as a grown-up-figure, but Inaho ate whatever they could afford to put on the table.  
  
Slaine fidgeted with his straw. "He didn't pay much attention to my eating habits. He noticed when I was sick, but if I was healthy and quiet enough, I could get away with most anything."  
  
"He was neglectful?"  
  
"Not at all!" Slaine objected, looking a bit startled. "In fact, my fondest memories of him are when he would take a day off of work to take me out for a picnic. He wasn't good at preparing the food, but I loved it."  
  
Slaine took another sip of his drink. "What about you? Your parents, I mean?"  
  
"Oh." Inaho hadn't expected such a question to come at all. He was so used to everyone knowing.  
"I'm an orphan."  
  
"Well, so am I at this point. I meant when you were a kid."  
  
"They died during Heaven's Fall." He explained. "I was born earlier that same year."  
  
Recognition blossomed on Slaine's face.  
  
"Oh. Sorry." He stared down at his drink for a moment.   
  
Then, Slaine looked up at him, his expression one of mild surprise.  
  
"You were born here in Japan, yeah?"  
  
Inaho nodded.   
  
"Weird."  
  
"Do I not look like a Japanese person?"  
  
"Not that. Just... We were both in Japan during Heaven's Fall, and I've been here multiple times. It's strange to think we could have met before and not realized it."  
  
"Hm." Now that Slaine mentioned it, Inaho wondered it as well. "Where did you live in Japan? My sister and I only ever lived in Shinawara."  
  
"A few places. Osaka, Fukuoka, and somewhere in Kumamoto."  
  
"Then it's not possible."  
  
Slaine smiled. "What a shame. It would have been funny."

.

.

.  
  
When it was time to go, they both went back in the car. Slaine sat in the driver's seat but did not start the car or place his hands on the wheel, only staring down at it.  
  
You're not planning something negative, are you?"  
  
Slaine didn't even look up at him.   
  
"I wish you hadn't allowed me this. It's cruel, Kaizuka."  
  
Inaho sat back in his own seat.  
  
"You don't want to go back." Inaho said. It wasn't a question, but an observation.  
  
"Why would I?"  
  
"If you could have three wishes going forward, what would they be?"  
  
Slaine held up three fingers and stared at his hand.  
  
"Going forward only, huh? I wish I didn't have to go back to that place." He pulled down one finger.   
  
Two wishes left.   
  
"I wish we could be friends, instead of so bitter and tormented by each other." He pulled down another finger.  
  
One wish left.  
  
"I wish..." He thought about it a minute longer. "I wish..." He laughed with the absurdity of it all. "I wish I could be an _architect_!" He said in a mocking voice, like it was impossible. He pulled his last finger down.  
  
"You'd have to go to school first."  
  
Slaine shrugged. "Fine. I wish I could _go to school_ to be an architect! Better?"  
  
Inaho sighed and Slaine looked over at him.  
  
"Kaizuka?"  
  
" _Well_ -"  
  
"No. No, no, no!" Slaine put the key in the ignition and started the car. "You are _not_ going to make any more reckless decisions." He said.  
  
"What?"  
  
Slaine pulled out of the parking spot. "I got the feeling you were going to try and be way too kind to me. It's a bad idea. Stop trying to, to, _whatever_ it is you're trying to do!"  
  
"That's-"  
  
"No! Go see a psychiatrist, Kaizuka. Because you're going mad."  
  
Inaho frowned at him. "Stop telling me _what_ I am, _what_ to do, _how_ I must be feeling... You don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Slaine barked out a derisive laugh.   
  
"You don't!" Inaho insisted. "You don't _know_ what I am, what I'm doing, or how I'm feeling, so-"  
  
"OF _COURSE_ I DO!!" He shouted loudly, banging a palm against the steering wheel. "How can I not?! You're not as complex, or mysterious, or _unsolvable_ as you want people to think you are!" Slaine turned the corner sharply, making Inaho grab onto the door so as not to slam into it.

Thankfully Slaine wasn't actually _speeding_.  
  
Inaho realized he hadn't planned on what to do if they got stopped though.  
  
"You've got me figured out?" Inaho asked, not believing him.  
  
"Yes." Slaine said simply. "You've got a crush on me, only because of reverse-Stockholm-Syndrome. That, or danger actually turns you on. _Or_ you actually want to die, but you can't force yourself to go down without a fight, so you're trying to heighten your chances."  
  
"I don't want to die."  
  
"I didn't think so. So which is it then, theory 1 or theory 2?"  
  
"I don't have a kink for danger either."  
  
"Then-"  
  
"But it's not _Lima Syndrome_ , which is what that's called."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"It's because I know more about you as a person."  
  
Slaine scoffed. "Only what I've told you."  
  
"And I've deemed you less of a threat."  
  
Slaine swerved into the wrong side of traffic. There were no other cars on this road right now, but that didn't mean one might not show up.  
  
Inaho pursed his lips. "Except for your overwhelming urges to try and prove me wrong..."  
  
Slaine stayed in that lane.  
  
"Go back to the correct lane now, please."  
  
Slaine hesitated, and almost listened, but his need to be self-destructive was stronger. He gave the car more gas, increasing their speed, going faster than the legal limit now.  
  
Inaho saw a car coming up ahead, and took immediate action. He leaned over and yanked on the steering wheel, turning them down a dirt path, but it quickly ended and then they were driving on a grassy field. A stray dog came out from behind a tree and Slaine automatically slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid it.  
  
"Ah shit-!"  
  
The dog was safe, but the car nearly rolled over, before its weight came slamming back down, thankfully upright.  
  
Slaine and Inaho both were frozen still, breathing heavy from the adrenaline. Inaho took calming breaths, hearing the blood rushing in his ears, and felt the vessels in his bad eye pulse. He was going to have one hell of a headache in about an hour.  
  
Slaine fumbled with the seatbelt, his hands shaking horribly, before managing to get himself out of the car, barely swinging the door shut with enough force to close it.  
  
Inaho got out after him, not sure what he was going to do.  
  
Slaine walked through the grass, away from the car and away from the road. They were close to the ocean here, and a little ways down the road there was a parking lot for people to park at so they could be close by. It was still too cold to go swimming though, so there weren't any people out.  
  
"Slaine!" Inaho called out, catching up to him. The breeze off the sea ruffled both of their hair, and chilled Inaho right to the bone.  
  
"Sorry." Slaine said, breath still a bit ragged. "I couldn't breathe." He gasped quietly in surprise when his feet sunk down at his next step, crossing over from the grassy area into the sandy beach. He took a few more steps but stopped.  
  
"You could have killed us both."  
  
"Are you angry?" Slaine asked softly.  
  
"Would you even care if I was?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Inaho was shocked at the answer, and decided he didn't believe it.  
  
"I don't understand you." Inaho said, running a hand through his hair.   
  
Slaine slowly lowered himself to sit on the balls of his feet.   
  
"I don't know what's wrong with me." Slaine admitted quietly. "It's like... Sometimes I remember the person I was and I think, oh that's easy, I can be like that. I can pretend I'm that person still. But other times, when confronted with such an uncertain future, I get scared. _Terrified_. I don't know what of, and I think it would be easier not to deal with it. To just get it over with already. I wish I could see my entire life play out first, so I could be prepared for each situation. I wouldn't try to change anything, I just want to know what to expect, or if I'm expecting something when nothing is coming. It's driving me mad."  
  
Inaho knelt down next to him, saying nothing.  
  
"Which is stupid. I should be well-adapted to change. I've never had a solid thing in my entire life! Human beings are highly adaptable. So why am I crumbling _now_? Why didn't I crumble earlier than this?" Slaine lazily traced shapes in the sand. "I'm a mess inside, and it scares me, and _that_ makes me angry. I just want to be a normal person again, if that's allowed. If not, I just want to go back to Vers and be a simple soldier again. I can't stand being in limbo."  
  
Inaho was aware that Slaine was crying.   
  
"I get these impulses, like back there, and it's as if the switch you flip to tell yourself _no don't actually do that_ is broken and wobbly and sometimes it doesn't work. And I do it. I mean, I think I have some sort of explanation for that one at least, because _up there_ , you have to make such quick decisions and if you stop to think, you'll die. And the war made that even more imperative. A person can only run on auto-pilot for so long, before it just becomes second-nature."  
  
"I understand that." Inaho said softly. "Sometimes I forget that I can stop and take a minute to do something, instead of doing the quicker but more painful route."  
  
Slaine was silent, content to listen to Inaho for a while, so Inaho continued.  
  
"I cook for me and my sister usually, and I keep flipping burning hot food with my bare hands, and I keep getting annoyed when it hurts. We've all suffered so much pain, so much _worse_ pain, that I feel like touching a hot pan for 2 seconds shouldn't hurt me anymore. It's not fair."  
  
He saw Slaine crack a smile. Just a small one. But it encouraged him to keep going.  
  
"Human beings only think about themselves, not in a selfish way, but we tend to reflect on our actions, and our future, and that's just self-preservation, I suppose. But we forget about bigger things a lot. We forget to look at the bigger picture. _Our_ brains in particular are still in development. We're still growing, biologically. But the damage the war caused our minds will never be repaired. We can bandage it and soothe it, but it will never fully go away."  
  
Which were words that, even though he himself said them, he also needed to hear.   
  
"As thankful as I am that I'm _alive_ , I think there will always be a part of me that is upset I've lost my depth perception."  
  
"I'm sorry." Slaine breathed.  
  
"I know. 'Not so much upset _at you_ , but rather, upset that it had to happen. As I said. We're still growing, and it's _war_. Things will be different, compared to how we grew up. Things are hard. But we're _human_ , so we tend to be able to bounce back if we just keep on keeping on."  
  
"I'm tired." Slaine said vaguely.   
  
"That's just the adrenaline wearing off."  
  
He chuckled quietly.  
  
"And you have PTSD."  
  
"I don't want to hear that."  
  
"You can be in denial of it all you want, but things get easier if you just accept it. Because then you can get assistance, and then things get a lot easier."  
  
"Does it?"  
  
"Well. To be honest, I think I'm in a worse state of mind than I was during the war, but that's because I didn't have time to stop and think, to stop and have fears, to _stop_. But I realize that I'm better than I would've been had I not accepted any help at all."  
  
Slaine got to his feet.  
  
Inaho continued. "Having a support network helps. I have great friends who help me, and who I can help too."  
  
"A-ha. See, I don't have any friends."  
  
"I'll be your friend."  
  
Slaine tried to glare at him, but it didn't look sincere. He just looked worn down.  
  
"You can't be serious. After everything? No way."  
  
"Stop looking backwards. Right here, right now. Let's start over." Inaho said, and stuck out his hand. "My name is Kaizuka Inaho, what's yours?"  
  
Slaine scoffed, a big smile appearing on his face. "You're ridiculous."  
  
"That's not a very nice thing to say to someone whom you've just met."  
  
He laughed a little again, but took Inaho's hand anyway.  
  
"Nice to meet you, I'm Slaine Troyard."  
  
"Oh, wow, like the martian dictator, what a coincidence."  
  
Slaine laughed _hard_.  
  
" _Haa_ , you're funny." He managed when his laughter died down.  
  
"Thank you. It wasn't a joke, but I appreciate the sentiment."  
  
They released each others' hands.  
  
"See, it's not so hard."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Slaine began taking his shoes off.  
  
"Er, what are you doing now?"  
  
"Before we have to go back, I want to walk in the sand. Is that okay?" Even though he asked, he was doing it anyway.  
  
Inaho took his shoes off too. "The water will be cold, so try not to get wet. You don't want to get sick."  
  
"Thanks for the advice, _mom_." He teased.  
  
They walked in the sand, barefoot, with the cold breeze from the waves blowing over them. The dog Slaine nearly hit came running down the beach and Slaine called out to it, but it continued running. It ran by a second time, so Slaine tried again, leaning down and holding his hands out, and it went to him, nearly knocking him over and into the tide. Thankfully Inaho grabbed the back of his jacket and kept him upright while Slaine adjusted his weight distribution.  
  
"Is it a stray? She's so friendly." Slaine said, not seeing a collar.   
  
The dog was some sort of Rottweiler mix, with a slightly shaggier coat and no docked tail.   
  
"All animals are required to be microchipped, so we can take her in and find out. If you can get her to follow you back to the car."  
  
Slaine, with nerves of steel, simply leaned forward and lifted the dog into his arms before she could try to run away. He carried her to the car and put her in the backseat, before climbing into the driver's side himself.  
  
"You okay?" Inaho asked, just to be sure, getting in the passenger's seat.  
  
"Yeah." Slaine said simply.  
  
"Seatbelt."  
  
"Right."  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *taps watch* but shouldn't cinderella be getting back soon...?
> 
> Nah jk Inaho can do whatever he wants ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	4. Chapter 4

Inaho had to look up on his phone where a veterinarian's office was, since he had never needed to go to one before. He directed Slaine where to go, back towards the town, and even further away from the manor.  
  
Slaine again carried the dog, this time inside the office, while Inaho explained they found her and wanted to check for a microchip. The employee put a simple collar and leash on her and took her to the back to check.   
  
The two boys had to wait for a few minutes, during which Inaho simply sat and checked a few messages on his phone, while Slaine perused the office, looking at pamphlets he could barely read.   
  
The vet tech returned and told them she did have one, but when they tried calling the number in the contact info, the line was disconnected.   
  
Inaho asked for the information, flashing his military credentials in the process, and said he could try and locate them to return the dog. After all, a lot of people were displaced during the mayhem after the war. It wasn't hard to conceive that they must have gotten separated.   
  
So the two boys and the dog got back into the car, but neither moved once seated. Slaine had his hands on the steering wheel, but he didn't start the engine yet.  
  
"My sister is scared of dogs." Inaho said quietly. "She's gonna kill me.... That's an exaggeration, just to be clear."  
  
"I figured..." Slaine muttered. " _Of course_ that kind of comment is a joke..."  
  
"Okay. I have a plan. Are you in?"  
  
Slaine looked over at him.   
  
"Without knowing anything about this plan, think about it for a few minutes, then make a decision."  
  
Slaine opened his mouth, but shut it and looked away, staring out the windshield.   
  
After a few minutes, Inaho asked again. "Are you in?"  
  
"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything important to do." He joked.   
  
Inaho nodded, and Slaine started the car, listening to Inaho's directions once again.  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" Inaho asked after they got on the freeway.  
  
"If I say _no_ are you really not going to ask anyway?"   
  
Inaho said nothing.  
  
Slaine sighed dramatically. "Fine, Orange. Ask away."  
  
"What did you call me?"  
  
"Orange?"  
  
"Not now. Before. When you attacked me."  
  
"Which time when I attacked you?"  
  
It sounded a little like a joke, but he was serious.  
  
"At the house, after I punched y- I never apologized for that. I'm sorry."  
  
Slaine snorted. "Water under the bridge. Um..." He thought back to that time. "I don't remember."  
  
Which Inaho really hadn't wanted to hear. "It started with a _ka_ sound."  
  
"I don't remember."  
  
Inaho frowned. He wanted to _know_. "I called you insane and you said you were right."  
  
"I really have no recollection of saying something strange..."  
  
"It was something I didn't understand, so it couldn't have been English."  
  
Slaine hummed, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel rhythmically. Inaho wondered if he realized there was a radio in this vehicle, but decided not to interrupt his thinking.  
  
"Oh! _Kærasti_?"  
  
"Yes, that!" Inaho felt immediate relief. "What is it? What did you call me?"  
  
Slaine chuckled, but looked a little embarrassed. "I was being petty."  
  
"I still want to know."  
  
"It was a dumb joke."  
  
"Tell me anyway."  
  
"It's a superlative of _dear_. It's normally what you would call your boyfriend. I was being facetious."  
  
Inaho didn't respond, so Slaine grew more embarrassed.   
  
"I'm sorry. I've only mocked your feelings nonstop, haven't I?"  
  
"You have."  
  
"I apologize."  
  
"It's fine."  
  
When Slaine glanced over at him, he thought Inaho looked a little disheartened. But he didn't know what to say.  
  
 _Hey I'm flattered, but I really think I'm the last person you should date._  
  
He absent-mindedly tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.   
  
_I already fucked him up enough, I don't need to tear up his heart too. Why doesn't he understand that?_  
  
He thought he heard Inaho gasp, but when he glanced at him again, he didn't look shocked or like he needed to say anything, so Slaine figured he had just heard the dog make a sound in the backseat.   
  
He glanced over his shoulder to see the dog laid down in the backseat.  
  
Inaho opened up the glovebox and dug around in it, but closed it soon after.  
  
"Looking for something?"  
  
"Nothing important."  
  
"Making sure there's not a gun?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Slaine shrugged. "I just assumed I wasn't allowed within like 3 meters of firearms."  
  
Inaho pat a spot around his ribs. "You're within 3 meters of me, and _I'm_ carrying a gun." But he looked down when he did so.  
  
Slaine pat his own ribcage, on the same side Inaho had, and felt it.  
  
"You forgot to take it out of your coat before you made me wear it."  
  
Inaho said nothing.  
  
"Dumbass." Slaine laughed.   
  
"You should probably give it back to me then."  
  
"Aw, you don't trust me?" He teased, in that voice he used that Inaho was starting to associate with _a bad thing is about to happen._  
  
" _Slaine_." Inaho said seriously. He was afraid he was about to go into another fit of split-second-bad-decisions, and his heart started to beat a little too fast in his chest.  
  
Slaine frowned, seemingly taking the hint. "I'm not going to dig around for a gun while I'm driving on a freeway!" He argued. "You know where it is, _you_ get it."  
  
So Inaho leaned over and Slaine felt him unbutton a pocket on the inside of the coat, before pulling it out. He opened the glovebox and put it in there, shutting it back right after.   
  
The two were quiet for a long time, with only Inaho's direction to take an exit at one point.   
  
"It's getting late." Slaine said quietly. The sun had dipped past the horizon, and the sky was a dark inky blue. Slaine had to turn the headlights on.   
  
Inaho, understanding what Slaine was really saying, answered. "I said I was taking you out for medical reasons. I didn't say when I'd bring you back."  
  
"When are you going to bring me back?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I'm trying to figure out if I can grant your first wish actually."  
  
Slaine opened his mouth to say something, but the dog nosed her way forward, one paw on the middle console.  
  
"Ah, no, you're too big!" Slaine said. "You can't come up here, sorry!" He said in an absolutely perfectly polite tone.  
  
"You're nicer to that dog than you are to me." Inaho commented.  
  
"Well, sure. Why would I be nice to you?"  
  
Inaho huffed.  
  
"It was a joke. We're friends now, you said? Anyway, of course I'm nice to a dog, she's never done _anything_ -" He continued trying to push her back gently.  
"Actually, could you help? _You're_ not driving."  
  
Inaho took over, leaning over to push the dog back into the backseat.  
  
"Do you want to tell me where we're going?" Slaine asked, stopping at a red light. He was glad the windows were tinted so dark, so that the other drivers couldn't potentially recognize him.  
"Not anywhere your sister will see the dog, I'm guessing?"  
  
"Correct." He messed with the heater settings, turning it on low. "You like dogs, don't you?"  
  
"I am a dog-person, yes. I had a dog for all of 2 weeks as a kid."  
  
Inaho's movements stilled and he looked up at him. "What did you do?"  
  
Slaine quirked an eyebrow at him. "I was a perfectly responsible owner, thank you! My father got the approval to move to Vers, and we couldn't take _Breki_ with us. So we gave him up to some family."  
  
Inaho laughed quietly.   
  
"Shut up. I was a kid. Kids pick silly names."

.

.

.  
  
They pulled into a drive way, and the two boys got out, with Slaine holding onto the dog's leash when he let her out of the backseat.   
  
It was a cute little house with a cute front yard. There were a bunch of flowers being grown in the yard, and there was a stone bench to sit on.  
  
Inaho walked right up to the front door and pat his pockets, looking for the key. He looked at Slaine and reached forward, unbuttoning a breast pocket without a word and pulling the key from it.  
  
"If you keep so many important things in your coat, you shouldn't have given it to me."  
  
Inaho unlocked the door and motioned for Slaine to follow him inside.   
  
"You can leave your shoes on for now." Inaho said as they stepped through.  
  
The dog's nails clicked against the hard floor, and their footsteps made the floorboards creak as they made their way through the entryway, through the kitchen, and out the back door.  
  
The backyard was large and fenced, with more flowers, and even what looked to be a vegetable garden that was just planted.  
  
Inaho leaned down and unhooked the leash from the collar, letting the dog run around and sniff wherever she wanted.  
  
"She might dig up the garden." Slaine warned.  
  
"It can be replanted."  
  
"Won't whoever's house this is get mad?"  
  
"No."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Because it's my house."  
  
"I thought you lived with your sister? Didn't you say she dislikes dogs?"  
  
"We share an apartment in the city, but we got this fixer-upper for getaways. Living in the city is difficult sometimes." He said vaguely. "It's quieter here."  
  
"Your sister won't come here?"  
  
"She comes on weekends sometimes, but she doesn't tend to turn up unannounced anyway."   
  
"Well, hopefully we'll find the dog's owner before it becomes an issue. Which reminds me, did you get the dog's name from the vet?"  
  
"No. Apparently the computer was having some trouble. It was all she could do to get me the original owner's name. In any case, I'll look into it right away."  
  
Slaine nodded. "Um-"  
  
"For the time being, are you thirsty? Oh, and it'll be time for dinner soon. Hm... Do you think you can manage something while I start the process of tracking down the owner?"  
  
"Oh. Yeah, I... Sure."  
  
Slaine followed Inaho back inside. Slaine opened the fridge and the cabinets to see what all Inaho even had.  
  
"Any preferences?"  
  
"Nothing too spicy or acidic for tonight. Thank you." Inaho said, before rounding a corner and disappearing.

.

.

.  
  
Over dinner, with the dog begging at their feet, Inaho mentioned he had no such luck so far.  
  
"How long are you gonna search for?"  
  
"Hm. A week max."  
  
"Are you just gonna keep her here?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I?"  
  
Slaine took a bite of food and grew silent.

.

.

.  
  
When it grew later still, Inaho brought a bunch of pillows and blankets for Slaine to set up with in the living room.  
  
"I don't have a bed for you, so you'll have to sleep on the couch."  
  
"I don't mind." Slaine assured him.  
  
  
The night was quiet, but Inaho still had trouble sleeping.   
  
_Probably because a man who tried to kill me multiple times is too close for my comfort._  
  
But that's why Inaho enjoyed having such creaky floorboards. He could not only hear if someone was walking around, but he could judge the distance and figure out how close they are and what direction they're going and how fast. It was reassuring, and it made him feel safer.  
  
Slaine had settled into the couch with a thick duvet and three plush pillows (more comfort than he needed, so he would be most likely to sleep all through the night and not bother Inaho, intentionally or not), and he hadn't moved at all.  
  
There was a TV in the living room, which Slaine had kept on, but the volume nearly all the way down. Inaho suspected he was just as nervous, sleeping in a new place, and wanted a dim light to see by, so as not to perceive something like a piece of furniture as dangerous.  
  
Inaho had done that a few times. He was sure that he had shortened his life span, and would have a heart attack at least three years sooner than if the furniture had _not_ startled him.  
  
It took Inaho about two hours to finally fall asleep.  
  
Then he was promptly woken up by the dog walking across the floor, lightly creaking the floorboards, her nails click-clacking, and then heard a loud and pained, "Oof!" from Slaine.  
  
 _She jumped on the couch._ Inaho guessed. He heard the distant shuffling of blankets, but nothing else.

_He re-situated. He's not getting up._  
  
Inaho fell asleep again after 20 minutes.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleepover~ :> No bed sharing I'm afraid (for now).


	5. Chapter 5

Inaho was awoken in the morning by the faint _buzz-buzz_ of his vibrating phone, plugged in nearby. He picked it up and saw two missed messages.  
  
It was time to start the day then.  
  
When he stepped into the living room, Slaine was still asleep. He didn't know why that surprised him.  
  
One foot was on the floor, likely from him trying to move over and give the dog enough space to lie between him and the couch. He had one arm tucked behind his head, and the other was resting lightly on the dog's head, which was resting on Slaine's stomach. It looked like he must have fallen asleep petting her.  
  
Inaho went about his usual routine, getting ready for the day.

When he went back to the living room, the dog was licking Slaine's hand that had slipped from her head, but Slaine was still sleeping.  
  
_He's comfortable here?_ That's why, Inaho realized, he had been so shocked to see him sleeping there. It had taken Inaho 3 weeks before he stopped waking up 10 times in the night, and at 5 am wide awake, no matter how late he went to bed.  
  
_Maybe he's just able to sleep anywhere, unlike me._  
  
He saw Slaine's hand move, going back to petting the dog, even though he still looked asleep. His hand moved slowly, and stilled to a stop, but he was nudged again. He scratched behind the dog's ear then, movements proving he was definitely awake. He rubbed a soft floppy ear between his finger and thumb and finally opened his eyes.  
  
Inaho didn't make a sound.  
  
Slaine removed his arm from behind his head to rub the other ear, before folding both ears back. He happened to glance over and saw Inaho. He hissed.  
  
"Jesus Christ, you scared me."  
  
The dog nudged at him again, so he continued to play with her ears.  
  
"Sorry. I was just about to wake you. I have to go do some work. Will you be fine on your own for a few hours?"  
  
Slaine stared at him, blank faced.  
  
"Here?"  
  
"Yes. Can you look after her? I'll be back in the afternoon. I'd prefer it if you just didn't leave the house, but I don't want you to sabotage something either. So don't feel forced one way or the other."  
  
Slaine snorted. "I'm not a 5-year-old. I know how to behave." He slowly pulled himself up and rubbed at his eyes.  
  
"Glad to hear it. Do you drink coffee?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Good, because I don't have any. Feel free to eat or drink whatever you like."

  
  
Slaine, after breakfast, decided to give the dog _a bath_. Which meant he practically got a bath himself with how soaked he got.  
  
He hadn't been given a tour, so he felt awkward snooping about, but it couldn't be helped. He wasn't going to stand around in soggy clothes until Inaho got back.  
  
He walked carefully into Inaho's room, wary in case of traps or something.  
  
"He's shorter than me, so this'll be weird, but..."  
  
He grabbed the first thing he found and skedaddled right out of there. He undressed in the bathroom and hung his clothes up on the rack to dry. Thankfully he could continue to wear his own underwear, and didn't need to borrow any, since they hadn't gotten wet.  
  
But wearing Inaho's clothes was still weird, even if it was a simple T-shirt and jeans.  
  
He couldn't even remember the last time he wore jeans...

He was just glad they were normal colors.  
  
The rest of the day Slaine spent outside. It was a wonderfully clear day, and it was warm as long as he was in the sun and not in the shade.  
  
Slaine sat on the bench in the front yard, watching the clouds roll by, and occasionally throwing a stick the dog found somewhere. Sometimes she brought it back right away, and sometimes she got distracted for a while before seeing it and bringing it over for Slaine to throw again, tail wagging.  
  
"Oh my, dearie, did you get locked out?" A small old lady asked as she walked by. She had white hair and a big sunhat on. She was carrying a bag loaded with groceries.  
  
Slaine, startled, only stared at her at first. "Oh, uh... No."  
  
She smiled. "Enjoying the weather, huh?" She nodded. "Soon it'll be great beach weather! Do you swim?"  
  
"Uh..." He was _so_ not used to idle chatter with strangers anymore. "No. I mean, _I can_ , but I'm not a very strong swimmer."  
  
She laughed softly. "My husband's the same way! _Never_ liked getting in water deeper than his knees!"  
  
Slaine smiled and stood up, walking to the fence around the front yard. The car was gone, but Slaine knew Inaho couldn't drive, so he had wondered if he had someone come get it _and_ him.  
  
"Does he still take you swimming at least?"  
  
"Oh, no. He died a few years back." Before Slaine could apologize, she continued on. "But we promised to haunt each other so we could pass on to the other side together. As punishment for dying first, I'm taking a diving class this summer! He'll hate it!"  
  
Slaine laughed.  
  
"So always take your sweetheart where they want to go!"  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" He nodded, grinning.  
  
"Do you live here with your wife?" She asked, looking past him as if she might see a woman through the windows, cooking or cleaning.  
  
"I'm divorced, sadly." He said. It wasn't entirely a lie. He and Lemrina _had_ technically gotten married, though only under the guise of her being Asseylum. Which was fraud. And with his supposed _death_ , it was more that _she_ was the widower, not him.  
  
"Oh no! What did you do?" She teased.  
  
"I never took her swimming." He joked. "I guess... I was too focused on work, so she left me to be with her sister."  
  
"Poor dear! But... How old are you?"  
  
"I turned 18 this January." He said.  
  
"So young! And already divorced."  
  
"The war." He explained. "We moved quickly because we didn't know how much time we would have." Which also wasn't true, but she didn't need to know that.  
  
She nodded along, understanding. "Well, you just have to get back out there! You're young, and handsome, and you have more experience now!"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Why, I have a granddaughter around your age!"  
  
"Ah, thank you, but actually I've decided I'm probably not suited to women."  
  
"I have a grandson! He likes boys too. Wait, let me see if I have a picture..." She said, digging through her bag.  
  
Slaine laughed and pointed at the house behind him. "Actually this is my boyfriend's house. I'm just waiting for him to get off work."  
  
Slaine hadn't decided if that was a lie or not. He wasn't sure what he and Inaho really were.  
  
Even still, she leaned forward and showed him the picture on her thick flip phone. Slaine leaned over the fence to see better.  
  
"Oh wow, he _is_ cute." He had gorgeous eyes and high cheekbones anyway. "If I end up dumping him-" He jerked a thumb at the house. "I'll let you know."  
  
It was mostly a joke.  
  
She switched the arm she was holding her bag in to put her phone away, as well as to alleviate the tension on the arm she had been using.  
  
"Oh, forgive me-" Slaine said, swinging a leg over the fence, since it was just low enough for him to do so. "Here, let me carry that for you. It's the least I can do for talking your ear off."  
  
She seemed flattered, and let him take her groceries.  
  
"You should force your grandson to come help you more often! Do you live alone?"  
  
"Oh, no!" She chuckled. "I live with one of my daughters and her young boy."  
  
Slaine nodded.  
  
The two talked the entire way to the old lady's house, who was named Michiko. Her daughter and young grandson (different to the grandson she had tried to hook Slaine up with) were gone however.  
  
Michiko explained her daughter had an office job in the city, and her young grandson went to daycare until 3, when she would go pick him up.  
  
Slaine had a lovely cup of tea and cookies with her.  
  
He had to lie whenever she asked certain questions, or stretch the truth at least. But said that he and _his boyfriend_ (he didn't mention Inaho's name, just in case) had only started dating recently, but that they had known each other for a couple years now.  
  
When he had finished the tea, he thanked her, and said he should be getting back. She thanked him for his help, and for his company, and sent him off with a small bag of cookies for him to share with his boyfriend.  
  
Michiko's house was a little up the hill from Inaho's, so walking back he could see the house fairly well. He saw Inaho exit the front door, meaning he had come back while Slaine was visiting with Michiko. The dog sat in the yard near him.  
  
Inaho glanced up by chance and saw Slaine coming nearer and nearer. Slaine lazily waved at him, noting Inaho looked a little mad.  
  
Inaho exited through the small gate and walked down the road to meet him in the street.  
  
"I didn't think you'd actually wander off." He said impatiently.  
  
"Relax, I was just earning a boyscout badge."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I carried an old lady's groceries home for her. She was very pleasant. Tried to set me up with her grandson." Slaine walked past him. "So I've decided if you're unkind to me, I'll dump you for him."  
  
Inaho walked after him. "You're making fun of me again."  
  
"I'm not. I'm serious. You should've seen the picture. He's like a _model_."  
  
Inaho frowned harder, somehow. "Slaine, I'm not joking around right now."  
  
"Neither am I." He muttered. "Here." He turned around, walking backwards, and thrust out the bag of cookies.  
  
Inaho took them, slowly.  
  
"She wishes for me to have a happy fruitful relationship this time around, so she said that one cannot help but be happy when eating these together."  
  
"I didn't know you were so sentimental."  
  
"Ha!" Slaine laughed, and hooked a finger in his necklace chain, holding up the pendant. "Me? Sentimental? It's not like I'm wearing the necklace my parents both wore until they died!"  
  
Inaho pursed his lips. "Perhaps sentimental wasn't the right word."  
  
"How was work?" Slaine asked, changing the subject.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Slaine smiled and shook his head, but then tripped on a rock and nearly fell, had Inaho not quickly reached out and grabbed onto him out of pure reflex. It was quick and messy, and it kind of hurt, but at least Slaine hadn't hit the ground.  
  
"Why are you wearing my shirt?" Inaho asked, now paying attention to it since his fingers were wrapped in it, clutching it. He looked down. "My pants, too."  
  
"You didn't notice how good the dog smells?"  
  
".....I'm unable to find a link between each of those statements."  
  
"I gave her a bath. I got wet. I borrowed some clothes. I, uh... I was planning on changing back before you returned, but..."  
  
Inaho didn't respond. But he was still holding onto Slaine.  
  
"Hey- Orange?"  
  
Inaho let go then, and went back to the topic at hand. "I don't mind that you borrowed some clothes." He said, but it sounded awkward. Forced. He changed the subject.  
"What did you mean _this time around_?"  
  
"Huh...? Oh. I told her I was divorced. Not entirely incorrect, after all." Slaine continued walking, forward again, staring up at the sky. "Do you happen to know how Lemrina is doing, speaking of?"  
  
"Did you love her?" Inaho asked, noting how forlorn Slaine looked.  
  
"In some ways, not in others... Do you not know then?"  
  
Inaho thought about it for a second, ultimately deciding that telling Slaine was acceptable. "She's doing well. She's spending a lot of time on Earth actually, and she's been undergoing therapy. The doctor said she may be able to regain her ability to walk unassisted, but it's still a ways off."  
  
"Hm." Slaine smiled then. "And? Does she actually like it here?"  
  
Inaho shrugged. "I haven't spoken with her personally, so I don't know."

.

.

.

Back in the house, the two snacked on the cookies Slaine had been given while Inaho explained he had found out some info about the dog's owner.  
  
"I managed to trace their name and old phone number to a definite source. The original owner died during Earth Fall."  
  
"Did you contact their next of kin? They might want her back."  
  
"I did. They do not."  
  
"Hm." Slaine looked over at the dog, laying comfortably on the floor nearby. "Do you know someone who can take her? I bet kennels and the like have their hands full, as I'm sure this is a common problem."  
  
"It is. A lot of animals are euthanized because there's too many, and not many people are ready to adopt yet. In addition, there are those who think to get an animal for emotional therapy, but that leaves the more rambunctious animals at a disadvantage."  
  
Slaine hummed in response.  
  
"Do you want her?"  
  
Slaine looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't make fun of me."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"You want me to keep her, while I live in that manor?"  
  
Inaho shrugged, which just pissed Slaine off. Before getting too mad, Slaine took a breath and sat back in his chair.  
  
"You said you didn't want to go back." Inaho said.  
  
"I don't."  
  
"Then I'll figure something else out."  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"I am."  
  
Slaine fiddled with his necklace and said nothing.  
  
"You could..." Inaho's voice trailed off in a way that was uncharacteristic of him, catching Slaine's attention. "You could stay here." He said finally.  
  
"But it's your peaceful getaway. I'm not exactly the epitome of _peaceful_."  
  
"You could watch it for me while I'm gone, and the yard is nice for the dog. You'll have to give her a name, and then get it updated on the microchip."  
  
Slaine thought about it.  
  
"And you could drive me to work so I don't have to call anyone. It would be quite convenient for me too."  
  
Slaine chuckled softly. "What's this gig pay?"  
  
Inaho pulled his wallet out of his coat pocket.  
  
"I was kidding!" Slaine said quickly. "You don't have to pay me, jeez..."  
  
"You'll have to buy dog food and the like. We can't keep feeding her human food like we did so far. So I'll give you this up front." He placed a few bills on the middle of the table and put his wallet away.  
  
Slaine stared at him.  
  
"You're serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
A breeze blew through the house from an open window, nearly blowing the money off the table, so Slaine was forced to take it after all, since Inaho didn't move at all except to look in the direction of the breeze.  
  
"I forgot I opened that earlier..." Slaine said, folding and putting the bills in the breast pocket of the T-shirt. "But, wait, how am I supposed to drive you anywhere when you don't actually own a car?"  
  
He waved a hand dismissively. "That can be arranged without a problem. The car we drove yesterday wasn't particularly owned by anyone. They're all simply military vehicles. That's why the windows are allowed to be that tinted, otherwise it's illegal."  
  
"Then... I guess first thing's first, is dog food."  
  
Inaho nodded. "The store isn't too far to walk to." He said, standing up. "I'll go with you so you know where it is."  
  
Slaine nodded, getting up as well. He spoke excitedly to the dog. "You wanna go on a walk??"  
  
The dog popped her head up and quickly got to her feet, wagging her tail. She barely stood still enough for Slaine to put the leash onto her collar.  
  
The trio left the house and walked down the road. Occasionally they passed an elderly person, or a person around their age on a bike. A small group of girls in school uniforms walked past them, and then did a double take and stared at Slaine. They spoke in hushed tones and too fast for Slaine to understand.  
  
He ducked his head.  
  
"This is a bad idea. I'm going to be recognized."  
  
Inaho glanced behind them at the girls and then back at Slaine.  
  
"They're only staring because you're a foreigner. They don't recognize you. I doubt anyone really will. It was very difficult for non-military personnel to access the vid-feeds from Vers. Even the videos we did get were fuzzy and hard to see. In fact..." He walked a little faster and pulled his phone out, then turned and took a picture of Slaine with the dog.  
  
"What are you doing?" Slaine stared blankly at him.  
  
Inaho looked at the screen. "Most people smile when their picture is taken."  
  
Slaine glared at him. "Is that what you were doing?"  
  
Inaho tapped away on his phone.  
  
"Wait, what _are_ you doing?"  
  
"Testing."  
  
"Don't send it to somebody!" Slaine chided. "Moron!"  
  
"Too late for that."  
  
Slaine rolled his eyes.  
  
A few minutes later, Inaho received a response.  
  
"Ah. See, I was right." He held the phone up for Slaine to read. Slaine took it and read the exchange, taken over some sort of social media app.  
  
_My new driver._ Inaho had written in a group chat-like space, with the picture posted underneath.  
  
A text encased in a different colored bubble said, _Cool! Do you still need me to pick you up on Saturday though??_   
  
A different colored bubble wrote, _He's cute, how old is he?_  
  
_Did you get a dog too!??_ Another bubble said.  
  
_Is he..... Is he wearing your shirt? Or do you two happen to own the exact same one bc that is HILARIOUS._  
  
Slaine handed the phone back and Inaho began responding to the messages. Slaine read over his shoulder.  
  
_He's 18. It's his dog. It's my shirt._   
  
Slaine tried to snatch the phone out of his hand, but Inaho moved out of his grasp quickly enough.  
  
"Don't tell the truth! It sounds weird!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It makes it sound like we're sleeping together."  
  
"You did sleep over though."  
  
Slaine frowned. "That's not what I meant. I meant-"  
  
"I know what you meant. I was joking." He stared at the message again. "Does it really look that way?"  
  
"I don't know!" Slaine said. "But usually when people are sharing clothes, it's because they ended up being undressed together, and that usually means _sex_."  
  
Inaho edited his message before sending it, and showed it to Slaine for approval.  
  
_He's 18. It's his dog. It's my shirt, because he got wet giving the dog a bath._  
  
Slaine nodded. "Better."  
  
So Inaho submitted the message.  
  
After a few minutes, Inaho held the phone up again.  
  
"A smiling photo this time, please."  
  
Slaine stuck his tongue out at him. Inaho lowered the phone and opened his mouth, but Slaine cut him off.  
  
"If you tell me a joke, maybe I'll laugh." Slaine said.  
  
Inaho cleared his throat.  
  
"A photon walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender says, ‘Do you want a double?’ And the photon says, 'No I'm traveling light.'"  
  
Slaine laughed, and Inaho managed to snap a picture, though a little blurry from his movement.  
  
"Ack, no!" Slaine said right after. "I was laughing because it was so bad! Dummy..."  
  
"It doesn't matter. You laughed."  
  
But Slaine started smiling again. "Actually, it reminded me of a joke my dad _loved_. Okay. What do you get when you cross a shark with an elephant?"  
  
He waved at Inaho to guess, but it took him a while, not seeing any possible pun that the joke could be hinting at. However, Slaine insisted even when Inaho shrugged.  
  
So Inaho went for the literal -and somewhat sarcastic- route.  
".....A visit from the ethics committee and immediate withdrawal of your funding."  
  
Slaine laughed so hard he had to stop walking, and doubled over, holding his stomach. There were even tears in his eyes.  
  
Inaho didn't even manage to take a picture, because he hadn't expected such a reaction.  
  
"That's-!" He took a few shaky breaths and stood up tall again, giving Inaho a huge grin. "That's it! That's exactly the punchline." Slaine continued walking, the smile still on his face.  
"I can't believe you have the same sense of humor as _my dad_."

.

.

.  
  
Dog food (and other groceries) bought, they headed home and Inaho prepared dinner this time. Slaine sat on the floor and started trying to teach the dog tricks.  
  
"Shake. Shaaaake." He said, holding her paw and shaking it up and down before letting it go. Then gave the dog positive reinforcement by petting and cooing at her. The dog licked his face in return.  
  
"Did you come up with a name yet?" Inaho asked, throwing some vegetables he had cut up into a pan.  
  
" _Hati_. It's short and easy to say. It's the son of the wolf, _Fenris_ , in Norse mythology." Slaine said, smiling. "Girls with boy-names are always cuter somehow. I once had a crush on a girl named _Elliot_. She was so cool. She beat all the other kids at kickball." Slaine looked over at Inaho. "So what do you think?"  
  
"It's your decision."

  
  
  
Inaho didn't know too much about mythology, but later, after dinner, when he was going to bed, he sent Calm a message.  
  
_You compared me to Odin, once. That's Norse mythology, right?_  
  
He waited for the response, the light from his phone the only thing illuminating his dark room. He saw the symbol that showed Calm was typing.  
  
_It is. Why do you ask?_  
  
_My driver. He named his dog "Hati" and said something about it. Can you tell me more?_  
  
_Hati (full name: Hati Hróðvitnisson) is the wolf who chases the moon, and wants to eat her. He has a twin brother (Sköll) who chases the sun for the same reason. It's said that during Ragnarok (the start of the end of the world) they will succeed. Their father is Fenris, the wolf who, during Ragnarok, will kill Odin, and will then be killed by Odin's son, Víðarr._  
  
_Careful that your driver doesn't kill you! lol  He may be Fenris in disguise, coming after you, Odin! jkjk i'm sure he's a nice guy. He sounds like a total nerd, I'd love to meet him one day._  
  
Inaho stared at the screen, trying to ignore any nerves that threatened to overtake him.  
  
_Thanks for the info. Goodnight, Calm._  
  
_Sure anytime! Night_  
  
Inaho set his phone down on the nightstand and stretched out, staring at the dark ceiling. How was he supposed to sleep after reading something like that?  
  
  
.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I edit a chapter during the weekend to upload, but I was kinda busy this weekend, so here's a monday update~! A HUGE thanks to everyone who's commented so far! It really means a lot to me!! :>


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has Mature themes (sex), but it's not like... porn-y? It's not described in detail, and it doesn't particularly last long. Viewer discretion is advised.

Inaho was dreaming. But all at once, he forgot that he was in a dream. It was dark, dark, dark, but then the lights started turning on, illuminating the hallway he was in. The walls and floors were white and silvery-metallic.  
  
He didn't recognize it.  
  
It was perfectly silent, except for his own footsteps echoing around him as he walked carefully through the halls.  
  
He noticed he was wearing his old school uniform, but it felt wrong. He knew he wasn't in school anymore. Wearing it caused a small spike of fear, aware that something was _wrong_. He tried to take a calming breath, to slow his heart rate, but it didn't work.  
  
He heard footsteps from behind him, but when he looked, there was no one there, so he continued forward, feeling just a bit more tense.  
  
The footsteps behind him picked up again, but this time when he turned around, the lights behind him had turned off, casting the space in dark inky black.  
  
Which meant there _could_ be someone in those shadows, tailing him.  
  
Inaho mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. Of course someone was there! They had just been hiding before!  
  
He saw a hallway to his right, and he ran for it, ducking in cover. He heard footsteps echoing behind him, also running, the footfalls just a bit heavier than his.  
  
The lights weren't turning on down this hallway, instead lit only with dark reddish-orange emergency lights along the edges of the floor.  
  
He ran and ran, and took another hallway, stopping and pressing his back flush against a wall. If the person following him came down this way, he could hear them and get the jump on them. He breathed heavy through his nose, trying not to be too loud.  
  
He heard nothing.  
  
He peeked around the corner, and saw the hallway lit up with bright white lights now, and no one else in sight.  
  
He couldn't remember what he was wearing before, but now he was wearing his white space suit. It felt better. But he still couldn't shake the fear in his gut.  
  
Swallowing thickly, he continued down the hallway slowly, opposite from where he came. He remembered needing to do something important, but he couldn't remember _what_.  
  
_A gun... Don't I have a gun?_ He felt around for it, and found it. He felt somewhat safer if he had a way to try and protect himself.  
  
He rounded a corner and bumped his nose straight into the chest of a man. The man reached out and steadied him, a firm hand on his shoulder. Inaho saw the color red, and when he looked up, it was Slaine, dressed in his count uniform, smiling coldly at him.  
  
"Be careful, Kaizuka Inaho, you could get _hurt_."  
  
Searing pain from his arm made him cry out in pain. Slaine had shot him in the upper arm. Inaho turned and ran at full speed, but it didn't feel very fast. It was like he was putting in maximum effort only to get minimal speed. Slaine was right behind him, only walking briskly to keep up with him.  
  
"You ruined all my plans, Kaizuka! Did you think I'd let you get away with it?"  
  
Inaho ran.  
  
"Do you know what happens to those who go against _me_? I _execute_ the opposition!"  
  
Inaho ran.  
  
The sound of another bullet being fired echoed around him, but it had apparently missed.  
  
"Stop running, _Orange_! Maybe if you ask sweetly, I'll let you watch the end of the world!" He laughed darkly. "It'll be _exciting_ , I promise! The Earth will be _mine_ , but not to worry, I don't plan on killing _everyone_. Vers will be the ruler, and what little Terran filth is left will be our oh-so-willing servants."  
  
Inaho tried to run _faster_ to no avail, his breath burning in his lungs.  
  
"Your friends, though? They'll certainly have to go." He said plainly, like he was talking about ugly curtains. "Did you want to watch, or shall I kill _you_ first? I'm nice, so I'll leave it up to you to decide."  
  
A sudden searing headache caused him to trip, and all the lights went out again. He turned around, and saw Slaine pointing a gun at him, and the scene mirrored the time in Siberia.  
  
_No... He wasn't wearing red that day. He was wearing blue._  
  
He only remembered because it had been dark, and made it hard to see Slaine amidst all the blood pouring down from his forehead wound. Blue was hard to see in the dark.  
  
His dream corrected itself, but instead of the Versian soldier blues, it was the blue patient outfit Slaine wore in the manor. He was pointing the gun at him with shaking hands, tears in his face now.  
  
"Did you think I would really love you? I _hate_ you. I hate you, I hate you! This was simply the quickest way to get _away_ from you! Please... Orange... Just stay dead this time-"  
  
The gun went off and Inaho was sure he felt his heart stop.  
  
Before losing consciousness, he heard more gunshots and the cries of his loved ones. Had Slaine shot and killed them too?  
  
Everything faded to black, but Inaho opened his eyes again right after. He was in his old middle school, in his middle school uniform, a baggy black mess he had never properly grown into and had secretly hated the high collar and the way it pressed against his neck.  
  
He stared blankly at the setting sun-lit classroom in front of him, bathed in dark orange light, and faint reds. It was empty and absolutely quiet.  
  
_My eye-_  
  
He quickly reached a hand up and it came away with blood. A lot of blood. With a quick gasp, he pressed his hand to the wound, both grossed out and curious as to what condition his actual eyeball was in currently.  
  
_I need help._  
  
"Calm?" He called out.  
  
"Inko? Nina?" No response.  
  
"Rayet? ...Okojo?" Nothing.  
  
"Matsuribi-senpai, Tsumugi-senpai?!" He called louder, his voice cracking.  
  
The blood from his eye was covering his hand and dripping behind him on the floor as he tried to quickly make his way to another classroom. It was also empty.  
  
He went into the bathroom next to the classroom. Inside, he folded up a bunch of toilet paper and pressed it to his eye, though it was quickly soaking through, and the paper stuck to the blood on his hands too.  
  
He paused by the mirror, and lowered his hand, lowering the makeshift 'gauze' he was holding against his wound.  
  
The socket was empty, with pieces of flesh and sinew hanging out of it, and blood still oozing out. The sight of it, the gaping void of it, startled Inaho and grossed him out, and he recoiled violently.

.

.

.

  
Inaho woke up with a startled yelp and sprung to a sitting position. With shaking hands, he slowly brought them to his face, worried they would come away with blood.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
To his side was Slaine Troyard, within arms reach.  
  
Inaho jerked away with a gasp, quickly propelling himself to the opposite end of the bed until he accidentally fell off the edge.  
  
"Inaho!?" Slaine walked around to the other side of the bed, but didn't get any closer. "You okay? That had to have hurt-" He reached a hand out to help him up.  
  
Inaho fought back the urge to flinch away even more, and simply stared at him, eye wide and trying to organize his thoughts.  
  
Slaine took in the sight of him and crouched low, sitting on the balls of his feet, and retracted his hand.  
  
"Had a nightmare, huh? I heard you shout. I wasn't going to bother you, but you kept making sounds so I've been trying to wake you for the past few minutes."  
  
Inaho said nothing, only tried to swallow the knot in his throat and try to remember to keep breathing.  
  
Slaine kept his distance, thankfully.  
  
Hati entered the room and knocked Slaine over, forcing him to sit flat on his butt on the floor.  
  
"Oof-"  
  
Hati licked at him, but Slaine tried to push her away. "No, go to Inaho!" He said, pushing the dog towards Inaho. She did, and laid down half in his lap, which Inaho actually hadn't wanted exactly. But he also didn't have the energy to push her away. Inaho still felt like he should be dripping blood everywhere. Still felt somewhat like he should be standing in the halls of a school at dusk. Even the waking world didn't feel quite right to him anymore.  
  
Inaho took in the clothes Slaine was wearing, as a sort of last line of defense, and saw that it was none of the uniforms Slaine had ever worn. It was some pajamas that Inaho had loaned him, a baggy T-shirt that was like a normal fit on Slaine, and a pair of shorts to sleep in that almost reached Slaine's knees. Slaine was sitting with his knees up, so Inaho could see _a lot_ of his thigh, and he quickly looked back down to the dog again.  
  
He felt a throbbing in his head, a horrible headache that always seemed to come with an increased heart-rate. He tried to ignore it, but it was soon too much to bear, and he pressed his palm against it, hoping that the pressure may help some. It didn't.  
  
Inaho tried to move Hati out of his lap, but didn't have the strength. Slaine leaned forward on his knees to help.  
  
"Don't touch me-" Inaho blurted out.  
  
Slaine froze, leaning back, but then stood and moved slowly forward again. "I won't." He reached out for the dog's collar. "Come here, Hati." He said in a sweet voice. "Inaho wants to get up now." The dog stood up and Slaine pulled her gently over to him.  
  
As soon as he was able, Inaho got to his feet. He took two steps and faltered. Slaine stuck out an arm to catch him with, and Inaho latched onto it out of reflex.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"It's just a headache."  
  
"Get back in bed."  
  
"I need-"  
  
"I'll get it for you. Sit down before you fall. What do you need? Where is it?"  
  
Slaine helped him, and thus forced him, to sit on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Bathroom. Medicine cabinet." Inaho said shortly. "The bottle on the right side."  
  
Slaine said nothing and left the room to get it. He found it easy enough, and stared at the prescription pain killer, as well as two other bottles of pain killers on the left side of the medicine cabinet. He shut the cabinet and returned to Inaho's room, which was now just a little brighter, as Inaho had turned on a small lamp. He was holding the side of his head and had crawled further into bed to sit up against the wall.  
  
Slaine came by his side and held out the medicine.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want the morphine? You look like you're in a lot of pain."  
  
Inaho frowned and took the bottle, popping the cap and taking just one tablet from it. There was a glass of water on his nightstand that he drank with it.  
"Don't be so nosy." He chided.  
  
"Do you need anything else?"  
  
"No."  
  
Slaine rubbed the back of his neck and looked like he was trying to figure out what to say.  
  
"Don't pretend you're so concerned." Inaho said roughly.  
  
"I-" Slaine looked shocked. "Of course I'm-" He looked away from Inaho, and then slowly leaned down on his knees, resting his head in his arms, crossed under him on top of the bed. "I can tell your dream was about me."  
  
Inaho didn't respond.  
  
"I can never ask you to forgive me. I nearly killed you, and it makes me sad. You are loved by many, and you're smart, and you could do so much with your life. And I almost took that opportunity away from you."  
  
"It's fine." Inaho said automatically. It was more for himself. If he continued to tell himself it was fine, soon his own brain would accept it and stop tormenting him about it, right?  
  
"It's not fine." Slaine insisted. "But it _is_ okay that it's not fine. Things can be not-fine."  
  
Hati jumped up on the bed, and Slaine clicked his tongue.  
  
"Hati, no." He said without any force to it. "Come on, girl, get down."  
  
"She likes sleeping near you, it seems."  
  
"I don't know why, I nearly hit her with the car that day. Nearly ruined her life too."  
  
Inaho was tired. He was sleepy, and he was tired of being afraid. Tired of being so hesitant. Tired of everything. Tired to the point that it circled around into being _annoyance_.  
  
He leaned forward and grasped onto the collar of Slaine's shirt, by his shoulder. He tugged it. "Come on."  
  
"What?" Slaine stood up, but otherwise didn't know what Inaho wanted him to do. "Oh, leave?"  
  
"No. Come here. She's already comfortable anyway, don't make her get up now."  
  
Slaine blinked at him, but Inaho reached for his shirt again, this time around his stomach, and tugged again. So Slaine crawled carefully over him into the bed, trying not to touch him. "You're sure?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Don't strangle me if you wake up from another nightmare."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
Slaine settled under the covers, giving Inaho enough space, and the two bid each other goodnight.  
  
  
In the morning, Inaho awoke more gently, to the feeling of his bangs fluttering against his forehead. When he opened his eyes, he saw Slaine's hand playing with his hair. When he glanced over, Slaine had propped himself up on one arm and was watching him. Seeing Inaho wake up didn't stop him in the slightest.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Playing with your hair."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's different to mine."  
  
"Of course it is. Not only is the color different, but due to our different racial features it's only natural that things like our hair thickness and hair texture wouldn't be the same."  
  
"I know. But still. Your hair is much more flexible than mine."  
  
"What do you mean?" Inaho asked, furrowing his brow a little. The expression made a small smile appear on Slaine's face.  
  
"I can move your hair over to this side..." He said, easily finger combing Inaho's part to the other side, the action sending pleasant chills down Inaho's spine. "But if I try to do that..." He ran a hand through his hair and tried to flip it over, but when he removed his hand, most of it flipped back to where it was before.  
  
Inaho reached a hand up to fix his own hair. "It still feels weird though." He explained. But then, he couldn't help it, and since Slaine had done it first... He reached over and messed with Slaine's hair. Slaine let him. Inaho pushed all of Slaine's bangs back from his face. Then let it flop forward again, and tried to give Slaine a more noticeable part, but it didn't look quite right.  
  
The entire time, Slaine stared at Inaho's face, before he couldn't help it anymore. He grabbed Inaho's wrists and tugged them down away from his head.  
  
"Sorry-" Inaho had started to say, about to apologize for doing more than Slaine had.  
  
But Slaine leaned forward and kissed him. It was just a quick kiss, over too soon. He pulled back and let go of Inaho's hands.  
  
Inaho stared at him.  
  
Slaine's face flushed pink. "Sorry."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Slaine rose an eyebrow. "Why am I _sorry_? Because... Last night you didn't even want me to _touch_ you." His face took on a more somber expression.  
"And here I am, kissing you again, like it's nothing. It's not a good idea, Inaho!" He grasped Inaho's arms, his fingers digging in just a little roughly.  
"I'm going to _ruin_ you, and you won't come back next time..." His fingers pulled in tighter, grasping Inaho's shirt tightly in his fists.  
  
"You don't know that." Inaho said quietly, reaching up to try and loosen Slaine's grip. "I could fix you instead."  
  
Slaine chuckled from deep in his chest. "Haven't you ever watched an after-school special? You can't _fix me, Orange_."  
  
"Can I try?" Inaho asked, managing to loosen one of Slaine's hands enough to pull it from his shirt.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'd like to be given the chance to attempt it before calling it impossible."  
  
"I could hurt you."  
  
"You've already hurt me just as much as you possibly could. I think a little heartbreak will be easier to recover from than anything else you've done to me."  
  
"What do you want from me?"  
  
"Not much." Inaho answered. "A little bit of trust. Some kindness here or there. I want to make you happy. The bigger question is, what do _you_ want from _me_?"  
  
Slaine seemed to finally notice Inaho gently trying to pry his other hand off of him, so he let go.  
  
"I can't ask you for anything. Not when I've taken as much as I have."  
  
"Ask for something anyway. Something selfish. Something you think I can't give you."  
  
" _Why_?"  
  
"Because I love you."  
  
Slaine stared at him.  
  
"Slaine, you're crying."  
  
Slaine said nothing.  
  
Inaho gently wiped it away, before Slaine hastily rubbed at his eyes himself.  
  
"A tear or two is hardly _crying_ , Orange."  
  
"Request something of me."  
  
"Make love to me."  
  
Inaho inhaled sharply at the frankly-worded request. He _really_ hadn't expected that.  
  
Slaine grinned and pinched at his cheeks. "Aw, you're _blushing_!"  
  
Inaho bat his hand away. "You're teasing me again!" He accused, somewhat annoyed. "Be more serious!"  
  
"You said to request something I didn't think you'd do. So I _am_ being serious. Let's make love."  
  
Inaho pursed his lips hard, thinking about it. Before, finally, " _Fine_."  
  
He threw his arms around Slaine and pulled him into a kiss, then he pushed forward, and rolled on top of Slaine.  
  
Inaho knew _tongue_ kissing was a thing, but he had never done it, and now worried about making a fool of himself in case Slaine knew better than he did. So instead, he did something easier, and moved to Slaine's neck, kissing and licking him there. Which earned him a breathy moan in response.  
  
An odd sound caught his attention and he stopped to hear it better.  
  
"Dog wants out." Slaine breathed.  
  
"I'll be right back. Don't move." Inaho said, getting out of bed and leaving the room.  
  
"Where would I go...?" Slaine mumbled.  
  
When Inaho came back, Slaine was digging through the drawer in his nightstand.  
  
"Why are you so nosy?"  
  
"I was looking for-! _You know_." Slaine said, a faint blush to his own face. He held up a bottle. "This."  
  
The reality of the situation was starting to sink in, but Inaho refused to let himself back down.  
  
So he got back into bed, and Slaine laid back down, and Inaho straddled Slaine's hips. Inaho, a little nervous and a little impatient, grabbed for the hem of Slaine's shirt, but Slaine quickly stuck out a hand to stop him, holding Inaho's hand in place in a tight grasp.  
  
"No."  
  
Inaho blinked at him.  
  
"It's not... Nice-looking."  
  
Inaho tilted his head in a questioning gesture.  
  
Slaine wouldn't look at him. "It looks bad."  
  
"You're so skinny though. Oh, like stretch marks? I don't-"  
  
"No." Slaine interrupted him. "Just trust me."  
  
So Inaho let it go, and instead moved his hands to the drawstring on his shorts. "This _will_ have to be removed, however."  
  
"I know that..." He said tiredly.  
  
"Most boys would be more shy about-"  
  
Slaine grabbed a fistful of Inaho's shirt and yanked him towards him, and then grabbed the blanket bunched up around their feet and pulled it over them, casting them in near-complete-darkness.  
  
"There, now you can't see _any of it._ " Slaine said stubbornly.  
  
"If you don't want to do this, just say so."  
  
Slaine sighed softly. "Sorry. Yes. Continue."  
  
Inaho nodded and finished pulling the loose bow free. He pulled the shorts down, taking Slaine's underwear with it, until Slaine could finish kicking them off himself. Inaho took off his own pj pants, after Slaine helpfully pulled his drawstring loose, and Inaho removed his own underwear. Unashamed of his own torso, he also took off his shirt.  
  
Unable to resist, Inaho kissed his way down Slaine's neck, over his chest on top of his shirt, and down to his stomach, and then even lower.  
  
Slaine gasped, which quickly turned into a groan as Inaho took his cock inside his mouth.  
  
Slaine moaned louder, and placed a gentle hand in Inaho's hair, encouraging him further. Until Slaine tightened his grip and pulled him back a little, just enough to give him the hint.  
  
"I'm not gonna last if you do continue that..." He said.  
  
Inaho kept having second thoughts, but continued pushing himself forward. He's had to do worse things before. Not that he could ever tell Slaine that's how he was feeling. He wanted to make him happier than he had ever been before.  
  
So he sat atop him again, after using a bit of lube on Slaine's cock, and gave Slaine another kiss on the mouth, surprised when Slaine wrapped an arm around his neck and held him there. Kissed him longer. Licked his lips.  
  
Inaho had accepted he was going to do _one thing_ he was uncomfortable with today, and that was either going to be french-kissing or having sex, but he couldn't handle _both_.  
  
But he had barely opened his mouth and Slaine already put his tongue in his mouth. It wasn't unpleasant at all, though it was weird, but he couldn't concentrate on what else he was supposed to _do_.  
  
Thankfully Slaine decided to take over, guiding Inaho where to move to, and then Inaho felt Slaine's cock against him, and he nearly swallowed Slaine's tongue in his nerves. Inaho pulled his head back, his breathing coming heavier, one hand braced on the bed below him, and one hand on Slaine's shoulder, where he had shoved it just inside the collar of his shirt to feel his skin.  
  
Inaho's breath was coming in faster, feeling Slaine start to press inside him, and he tried to remind himself to relax or to breathe differently, but he kept forgetting.  
  
"A-ah!"  
  
He was unaware of his fingers digging into Slaine's skin, though Slaine said nothing about it either.  
  
It simultaneously felt like _forever_ and like _no time at all_ when Slaine mentioned it was in. The two took a moment to breathe, before continuing.  
  
"Inaho, come here." He said sweetly, pulling him in closer so that Inaho's breaths and moans were louder in his ear. "Mm, you have a cute voice."  
  
Inaho frowned. "C-cute?"  
  
Slaine managed a chuckle. "I just meant that I liked it. The sounds you make. If you dislike _cute_ so much, then how about _pleasant_?"  
  
"Is it that... Nice?"  
  
Slaine thrust his hips sharply, catching Inaho by surprise, and he yelped out a louder moan.  
  
" _Yes_."  
  
"Don't do that."  
  
"It was just to prove my point. I won't do it again."  
  
"I'm serious."  
  
"I won't." He repeated.  
  
Inaho became aware of the gross feeling of sweat forming across his body, but most annoyingly on his forehead under his bangs, making his hair start to stick to his skin. He noticed Slaine was the same way at least.  
  
Inaho just felt... Gross.  
  
And it bugged him that he couldn't _do_ this. He couldn't figure out how to just lose himself in the pleasure of it all right now. He blamed that nightmare from last night, making him disassociate a little.  
  
He tugged on Slaine's necklace to catch his attention.  
  
"Can you... " He swallowed a moan that stuck in his throat. "Kiss me like you did before?"  
  
It might help him loosen up, or forget, or pretend...  
  
Slaine complied easily, putting two gentle hands on either side of Inaho's jaw and pressing their mouths together, dipping his tongue into Inaho's readily open mouth.  
  
Inaho wondered if it felt gross for Slaine to touch him, as the tips of his fingers were right where the nape of his neck had gotten all sweaty and gross, where the scruff of his hair had gone from dry and fluffy, to sticky and damp.  
  
_Gross._  
  
_Gross...._  
  
_Why does my body have to sweat so much...?_  
  
After just a few seconds of kissing however, Slaine pulled back and slowed down a bit.  
  
"Inaho, are you okay?"  
  
He stared blankly at him, unsure how to say, _no but keep going, really._  
  
"You kinda... Winced. Does it hurt?"  
  
Inaho shook his head. It felt _uncomfortable_ and _weird_ , but not painful per se. Really it was just the thought of being _gross and sweaty_ that made him wince like that.  
  
"You have to tell me if it does, so I can do it differently."  
  
Inaho hadn't realized _differently_ was on the table, and wondered if he had been suffering for absolutely no reason. He pursed his lips tightly.  
  
"Inaho?"  
  
He said nothing.  
  
Slaine frowned. "Do you want me to keep going?"  
  
Inaho said nothing. Slowly, he nodded his head.  
  
So Slaine continued.  
  
But Inaho pulled another face and decided he actually couldn't stand it anymore, now that he knew Slaine actually wanted to take Inaho's opinions into consideration. His grip tightened even further on Slaine's skin, where his hand still rested.  
  
"Slaine, wait, no-"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't-"  
  
Slaine stopped moving immediately, and cupped Inaho's face in his hands.  
  
"Inaho. Look at me."  
  
He did, _reluctantly_.  
  
"Did you enjoy it at all?"  
  
He looked away.  
  
"Ina-"  
  
"You _asked_ me to."  
  
Which made Slaine mad.  
  
"I asked because you told me to request something impossible!!" He said loudly. "When you agreed, I thought you _wanted_ to!"  
  
"I enjoyed some of it." He admitted.  
  
"Which part?"  
  
"The... Before-part."  
  
Slaine sighed and ran a hand through his hair, and due to the damp-stickyness it actually stayed back instead of flopping forward again. Inaho thought it actually looked attractive, but he felt like it wasn't the time to say that right now.  
  
Slaine pulled out, had Inaho lay on his back, and went back to what they had done before. Kissing.  
  
He moved down to Inaho's neck, biting it, and it reminded Inaho of that day Slaine had practically attacked him. But the biting was gentler this time, and he found that he rather enjoyed it.  
  
"You wear high collars to work, right?" Slaine asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Good."  
  
"Did you give me a hickey?"  
  
"I gave you _several_."  
  
Now it was Slaine's turn to kiss down the length of Inaho's body, getting a nice moan when he reached his nipples, before quickly continuing lower. He stopped just right at Inaho's groin and looked back up at him.  
  
"Stop me if you don't like it, okay?"  
  
Inaho nodded.  
  
But getting a blowjob was different, and Inaho _did_ enjoy it.  
  
He copied Slaine's move of tugging on his hair when he wanted to get his attention, warning him that he was close so he could stop. But Slaine kept going, and Inaho looked appalled when he _swallowed_ it.  
  
"Isn't it super salty or something?" Inaho said, looking a little grossed-out.  
  
Slaine hummed and got closer, leaning in close to his face.  
  
"Want to know?" He said, leaning in for a kiss, but Inaho quickly put his hands over his mouth.  
  
"Don't you dare, Bat!"  
  
Slaine smiled and gave the back of his hands a quick peck.  
  
"I won't if you don't want me to."  
  
So Inaho lowered his hands, a little hesitant, not sure if Slaine would try anyway.  
  
"Honestly, Orange, I can't believe you let me take something _else_ away from you."  
  
"That's not funny."  
  
Slaine frowned. "I'm not kidding." He flicked Inaho's nose. "You're a real dumbass, you know. I feel bad now! So I'm going to reward you for being so patient with me."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Slaine sat up on his knees, straddling Inaho's legs, and grabbed the hem of his shirt. He pulled it over his head and had it off in one smooth motion.  
  
Inaho thought it was _mesmerizing_ , and he would have been absolutely amazed and maybe a little turned on, had his feelings not taken such a nose-dive at seeing Slaine's torso.  
  
Absolutely _covered_ in light pink, slightly puffy, scars. Some thick, some thin, some shallow, some deep. He knew _of_ them, only realizing now he had forgotten them completely, but he had never _seen_ them.  
  
Inaho sat up and reached a hand out to touch, but stopped himself, realizing it might be inappropriate.  
  
Slaine smiled at his kindness, but grabbed his hand and pressed it to his flesh anyway. Inaho slowly and softly traced the lines, while also touching the unscarred parts of him.  
  
"I told you it was bad." Slaine said softly. "It doesn't bother me at all, but I thought it might bother _you_."  
  
"Is it from one time, or multiple?"  
  
"These ones were one time. They're still kinda puffy since it only happened a couple years ago, right when the war started."  
  
Inaho glanced up at his face.  
  
"This was from an interrogation session after you shot me down. I was suspected to have had something to do with the assassination back then, but I wouldn't talk, because I didn't want anyone else to know _she_ was still alive, and I didn't yet know who the main traitor was."  
  
Inaho hadn't realized that his actions had left such horrible scars on Slaine too...  
  
"The ones on my back are from multiple times." He said nonchalantly. "Over the years, et cetera."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you didn't want to show me."  
  
"Eh, I'll live." He said, shrugging easily.  
  
Inaho smiled, but it quickly slipped from his face.  
  
"My turn?"  
  
Slaine blinked at him. "What?"  
  
"You showed me your scars, so I'll show you..."  
  
"I showed you because I felt bad you didn't enjoy _that_! You don't owe me anything."  
  
"Then... Because I want to. And because I want us to be on equal footing."  
  
Inaho reached up and pulled the eyepatch from his face, but kept his head down for a moment, his hair covering his face. He felt Slaine kiss the top of his head, and it made him feel better somewhat.  
  
Inaho looked up at him and held his breath.  
  
Slaine stared for a minute, and then brought a hand up to the side of his face. Inaho jerked away out of habit, so Slaine pulled his hand back and didn't touch him. Inaho grabbed his hand and pressed his palm against his cheek.  
  
"I'm not used to someone getting so close." He explained. "I can't see on that side obviously, so to feel something all of a sudden is startling."  
  
Slaine nodded, rubbing his thumb gently against Inaho's cheek, before letting his hand slip to the back of his neck, his fingers running through the hair at the base of his neck.  
  
"It's gross." Inaho frowned. "My hair, I mean."  
  
Slaine chuckled and ruffled Inaho's hair a bit. "It's because of me!"  
  
He tugged on one of Inaho's ears. "Your pink ears are because of me..."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed the spot where his eye was missing. "This, too, is because of me."  
  
Inaho flushed _red_ , so much so, he felt his skin itch with how warm it was.  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen... Slaine wasn't being entirely serious about asking for sex, but when Inaho 100% agreed to go for it, Slaine was like oh damn he's actually serious?? and was kinda into it. I would say, at this point, Inaho is hardcore in love with Slaine, and THINKS he's being logical, but a lot of his emotions are guiding his actions without him realizing it, because he's so good at rationalizing what he wants to do.  
> Meanwhile, Slaine isn't... Really in love with Inaho yet. It's a mild crush that doesn't go beyond "he's kinda cute" but every time Inaho does something for him, his love meter goes up (like a video game haha). He keeps being surprised at how earnest and straight forward Inaho is in regards to his feelings towards Slaine (probably because he's so used to the underhanded and sly ways of the Versians lol) 
> 
> These boys and their miscommunications I s2g...
> 
> I also want to be super clear about Inaho's reluctance about having sex with Slaine here (the original draft of this chapter was worded a bit more vaguely, so I rewrote some parts, but I still want to say this here too). His feeling gross and whatever is just... Like he hates being a sweaty guy? It's not that he felt weird about having sex in particular. For example, if Slaine had asked him to run laps and he got all sweaty, Inaho would just be thinking the same thing "Ugh I'm all gross I hate it". The blowjob was A-OK because it was over quicker haha;;;
> 
> So... A disaster of a first time maybe, but they're working on it.
> 
> Teaser: In the next chapter, or the one after that (depending on how I edit it), Slaine gets to meet Inaho's friends :D .......That goes about as well as you think.  
> .


End file.
